Sat 8 Mar 2025, 7.30pm
Esplanade Concert Hall
Photo by Bryan van der Beek
Sat 8 Mar 2025
Esplanade Concert Hall
HANS GRAF SNYO
SIBELIUS AND GERSHWIN
Singapore National Youth Orchestra
Hans Graf SSO Quantedge Music Director
LYADOV
Baba Yaga, Op. 56 4 mins
LYADOV
The Enchanted Lake, Op. 62 6 mins
LYADOV
Kikimora, Op. 63 7 mins
GERSHWIN (ARR. BENNETT)
Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Picture 24 mins
Intermission 20 mins
SIBELIUS
Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 43 43 mins
Concert duration: 2 hrs (including 20 mins intermission)
Singapore National Youth Orchestra
The Singapore National Youth Orchestra showcases the extraordinary capability of our youth. It inspires them towards artistic excellence, nurtures them to reach beyond their potential and develops them through rigorous training within a vibrant, supportive, and diverse environment. Established formally in 1980, the Singapore National Youth Orchestra (SNYO) has welcomed generations of youths into the transformative world of orchestral music, performing locally and representing Singapore on prestigious international stages.
The SNYO family comprises two orchestras: the Singapore National Youth Orchestra and Singapore National Youth Sinfonia, with over 180 members aged 10 to 24 from more than 60 schools across Singapore, guided by professional musicians in rehearsals, sectionals, and masterclasses. Recognised by the Ministry of Education as a National Project of Excellence, members of the SNYO have their participation in the orchestra recognised as a Co-Curricular Activity.
Joshua Tan was appointed as the Music Director of the SNYO in 2025, and Seow Yibin has held the position of Associate Conductor since 2022.
Over the years, the SNYO has performed in concert venues and music festivals across Australia, Austria, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom. Other musical endeavours include collaborations with the Singapore Ballet, TwoSetViolin and side-by-side concerts with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.
The SNYO is part of the Singapore Symphony Group, which also manages the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and Singapore Symphony Choruses, as well as the SSO Chamber and Organ Series, the Singapore International Piano Festival and the biennial National Piano & Violin Competition.
Hans Graf
SSO Quantedge Music Director
Armed with a spirit of musical curiosity and discovery, creative programming and his commanding presence on stage, Austrian conductor Hans Graf has raised orchestras to new heights while winning audiences young and old alike. With Hans Graf, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra has achieved “a brave new world of music-making under inspired direction” (The Straits Times) since his appointment as Chief Conductor in the 2020/21 season, followed by five outstanding seasons as Music Director. Hans Graf’s farewell season in 2025/26 celebrates his remarkable achievements with his being named the SSO’s first Quantedge Music Director.
Graf was formerly Music Director of Houston Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, Basque National Orchestra and the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg. He is a frequent guest with major orchestras worldwide including the orchestras of Boston, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Vienna, Leipzig Gewandhaus, DSO Berlin, Dresden, Royal Concertgebouw, Oslo, Hallé, London, Royal Philharmonic, Budapest Festival, St Petersburg, Russian National, Melbourne, Sydney, Seoul, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and the Bavarian, Danish and Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestras. Graf has led operas in the Vienna State Opera. Munich, Berlin, Paris, Strasbourg, Rome and Zurich. In 2014 he was awarded the Österreichischer Musiktheaterpreis for Strauss’s Die Feuersnot at the famed Vienna Volksoper, where he returned in 2021 to lead Rosenkavalier.
Hans Graf’s extensive discography includes all symphonies of Mozart and Schubert, the complete orchestral works of Dutilleux, and the worldpremiere recording of Zemlinsky’s Es war einmal. Graf’s recording of Berg’s Wozzeck with the Houston Symphony won the GRAMMY and ECHO Klassik awards for best opera recording. With the Singapore Symphony, Graf has recorded the music of Paul von Klenau, Józef Kozłowski’s Requiem, an upcoming Mozart Violin Concerto cycle with Chloe Chua, and Stravinsky Concertos with violinist He Ziyu and pianist Alexei Volodin.
Hans Graf is Professor Emeritus for Orchestral Conducting at the Universität Mozarteum, Salzburg. For his services to music, he was awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre de la Légion d’Honneur by the French government, and the Grand Decoration of Honour of the Republic of Austria.
Singapore National Youth Orchestra
Joshua Tan Music Director
Seow Yibin Associate Conductor
Lim Meng Keh Percussion Tutor
FIRST VIOLIN
Jacob Cheng Concertmaster
Keith Ong Concertmaster
Lee Seohyun Principal
Amanda Ang
Hannah Chung
Goh Shi Eun
Aidan Kwek
Yuto Lim
Joshua Lim
Annie Liu
Asher Ng
Zanna Phua
Amelia Phuah
Aubrey Tan
Tong Xinran
Janelle Yuen
SECOND VIOLIN
Samuel Soekarno Principal
Chloe Chee
Maximus Chia
Allison Chng
Kayli Choo
Fu Yu
Khloe Gui
Zoe Lam
Lim Jing Rui
Lum Kai Ying
Ng Zu Ni
Jesper Tai
Raphael Teng
Liam Young
VIOLA
Chloe Lee Principal
Skyler Goh Principal
Chang Zi Yi
Kuah Ying Ching
Jayden Kwan
Calista Tan
Samuel Tan
Janice Tsai*
CELLO
Zachary Lau Principal
Shavaun Toh Principal
Lloyd Loh
Jayden Qin
Ephraim Tan
Charlotte Tseng
Christoph Yang
Aidan Yeong
DOUBLE BASS
Gideon Yen Principal
Samantha Ang
Hoo Rei Hon
Lee Yan Yu
Lim Rui Yi
Ma Ruilin
FLUTE
Carolynn Choo Principal
Justin Damhaut Principal
Chan Xingwei
Zhou Shijie
PICCOLO
Carolynn Choo Principal
OBOE
Cho Dong Min Principal
Kayden Yap Principal
Matthew Chen
Linus Ng
COR ANGLAIS
Matthew Chen
CLARINET
Qian Wanni Principal
Claudia Toh Principal
Ng Zhi Jian
Darren Sim
Amelie Peh
Low Xin
BASS CLARINET
Low Xin Principal
ALTO SAXOPHONE
Michellina Chan*
Ryan Wee*
TENOR SAXOPHONE
Marc Yee*
BASSOON
Li Ruidan Principal
Dana Cervantes
Wang Xintong
CONTRABASSOON
Wang Xintong
HORN
Andrew Lee Principal
Chloe Lau Principal
Joshua Goutama
Keak Jing Yi
Amira Qistina
Caden Rafiuly
TRUMPET
Domi Chen Principal
Koh Mi Yo Principal
Sara Han
Quentin Heng
Joshua Tan
Kieran Yeo
TROMBONE
Samuel Armstrong*
Calista Lee
Trevor Wong
BASS TROMBONE
Benjamin Lim Principal
TUBA
Amos Ong
TIMPANI
Kilian Muliady
Isaac Ng
Christian Tan
PERCUSSION
Gladys Chew
Kilian Muliady
Alon Simons
Christian Tan
DRUM KIT
Isaac Ng
HARP
Jerielle Kok
Chloe Liow
CELESTA
Andrew Lee
BANJO
Daniel Chai*
* Guest musician
Programme Notes
ANATOLY LYADOV (1855–1914)
Baba Yaga, Op. 56 (1891)
The Enchanted Lake, Op. 62 (1909)
Kikimora, Op. 63 (1909)
Anatoly Lyadov was a bright young teen who showed early promise and indeed was friends with the Mighty Handful of Russian nationalist composers (sometimes known as the Russian Five), although Rimsky-Korsakov would kick Lyadov out of his composition class for missing too many lessons during his studies at the St Petersburg Conservatory. That unreliability became somewhat of a hallmark for Lyadov: a combination of laziness, perfectionism and lack of faith in his own skill meant that he published very few works, and wrote no large-scale compositions. His strengths lay in the miniature, and he produced many short pieces for piano, relying on his strength as a fine pianist. Some of them were later orchestrated ( About Olden Times, Op. 21, shows a deft touch in working with the orchestra), but it is probably indicative that Lyadov’s best-known work is a two-minute piano miniature titled “A Music Box”.
Stravinsky reported that Lyadov was eventually as strict with his students as with himself, though he was always a staunch musical conservative, frowning upon the “innovations” (derogatory!) of Richard Strauss and Debussy. But he was as good at orchestration as any of the great Handful, and indeed was very respected by his peers when he dove into Russian subjects and produced occasional moments of great brilliance.
Baba Yaga, a very short symphonic poem that Lyadov worked at on-and-off for over a decade, takes a very different approach from the much more famous depiction by Mussorgsky that Lyadov would have known and loved. A mainstay of Russian folklore, this old witch lives in a hut in the forest that stands on chicken’s legs, and instead of a flying carpet, flies around in a mortar and pestle! Lyadov paints the winds that stir up at her presence in very clever fashion, using whirling strings and high wind trills, as well as unpredictable metrical accents to signify Baba Yaga’s flight through the forests where she lives.
The next two longer pieces are related: Lyadov, like many Russian composers of the time, wanted to write an opera on national subjects, but as was his wont, never came close to finishing it. However, he rescued two particularly beautiful fragments of music from that opera project, which eventually developed into The Enchanted Lake and Kikimora. The first of this pair is a beautifully orchestrated depiction of a mountain lake: uninhabited, completely untouched, utterly tranquil. There is no narrative in these seven minutes. Lyadov simply explores the stillness in a way that is almost impressionistic, relying on harmony, orchestration, and sometimes a lyrical melody or two. He called himself “a pianissimo composer”, and nowhere is that better demonstrated than in this lush orchestral sound.
Kikimora is another witch from Russian folklore, not dissimilar from Baba Yaga as a kind of demi-god, but much smaller in size: she enters houses through keyholes in doors, squeaks like a mouse, and lives behind the stove. Some sources
describe her as a swamp spirit, in which she shares similarities with Baba Yaga; others describe her as chicken-like, a household dweller, or a bit like a poltergeist. Despite this mischievous description she can also be threatening and malevolent: a shape-shifter who drowns travellers and kidnaps children.
Lyadov’s depiction of her starts with a rumble in the low strings and chromatic harmonies in the low winds. The cor anglais presents the theme: a melancholy folk tune. It is easy to hear Mussorgsky’s influence in the angular mood shifts and some of the more biting orchestral effects. In Lyadov’s own notes, the beginning is Kikimora rocking in a cradle while listening to tales from a magician’s cat, after which she spins flax throughout the day, harbouring evil intentions for the world. The music lurches forward at the midpoint of the tone poem, and Kikimora is off: like in Baba Yaga, Lyadov chooses to illustrate this magical flight in a quick triple time. The music gets increasingly aggressive but, with a cheeky piccolo chirp, Kikimora eventually vanishes into thin air.
Instrumentation (Baba Yaga): 2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, cymbals, bass drum, xylophone, strings
Instrumentation (The Enchanted Lake): 3 flutes, 2 oboes, 3 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, timpani, bass drum, harp, celesta, strings
Instrumentation (Kikimora): 2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, xylophone, celesta, strings
GEORGE GERSHWIN (1898–1937)
Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Picture
(arr. Robert Russell Bennett, 1943)
George and Ira Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, an opera written by two Jewish brothers with a lot of help from the white author of the original novel (DuBose Heyward), actually featured an all-African American cast when it premiered in 1935. Even though the story is set in a fully Black community, this was a very striking artistic statement in the prevailing racial climate. Gershwin was always very firm on this matter, calling it a “folk opera”, and never hid the fact that he liberally borrowed and was inspired by African-American folk spirituals. This was an incredibly progressive stance for the time, and his work “classicalising” jazz music and bringing it into concert halls was also extremely important.
Later performances occasionally broke the Gershwins’ rule of always hiring Black singers: the European premiere in Copenhagen had everyone in blackface, though other productions across Europe did away with the minstrelsy and simply employed all-white casts. Today, Porgy is performed in both its opera and musical forms, and is a firm audience favourite, with the individual songs becoming firmly embedded in jazz history.
A Symphonic Picture thus is an orchestral medley of the “greatest hits” from the opera, arranged by Gershwin’s friend and assistant, the famed Broadway and Hollywood orchestrator Robert Russell Bennett. In doing so, he shuffled the order around slightly. This contrasts with Gershwin’s own suite from Porgy, which chose to focus on some of the more esoteric bits of musical writing — Gershwin wanting to establish his more modernist credentials, as it were. Bennett’s medley, however, had significant input from one of Gershwin’s greatest conductors: Fritz Reiner, leader of the Cincinnati Symphony and one of the original conductors for An American in Paris, fully outlined the structure for Bennett, desiring a work that could fit on three 78-rpm vinyl records (24 minutes total). Most of the orchestration is very close to Gershwin’s original: listen for the liberal use of saxophone chorus, as well as the banjo!
Notes by Thomas Ang
Instrumentation: 2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, 2 alto saxophones, tenor saxophone, timpani, glockenspiel, xylophone, wood block, cymbals, triangle, snare drum, suspended cymbal, bass drum, chimes, large deep bell, banjo, 2 harps, strings
JEAN SIBELIUS (1865–1957)
Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 43 (1902)
I. Allegretto
II. Tempo andante, ma rubato
III. Vivacissimo
IV. Finale: Allegro moderato
This concert hall favourite is the one and only time a Sibelius symphony would sound like this, with such triumphant sweep. All seven that Finland’s greatest composer wrote are different. But all share one thing: the idea of growing themes from simple musical cells, and the synthesis of seemingly unrelated themes into greater, unified structures.
The Second Symphony begins with a shimmering, rising string figure, woodwinds and horns answering. Always listen for this 3-note figure – it is everywhere in some form in this symphony, searching and growing into its final form in the glorious finale.
No true melody really develops in this opening movement . It’s more like a series of calls and answers. One way of understanding the latent drama in this movement is to bear in mind that Sibelius had originally planned to write a cycle of story-telling tone poems based on the legend of Don Juan, similar to his Lemminkäinen Suite. When this “Orchestral Fantasy” was finished, Sibelius realised that it was in essence, a symphony. He later denied any programmatic content, only saying that “My second symphony is a confession of the soul.”
The mysterious slow movement begins with a brooding pizzicato theme on cellos and basses. Sibelius previously ascribed the music to Don Juan’s encounter with Death – Death appearing on the ominous bassoons. The music builds to a dramatic climax exhorted by brass, before the gloom parts to reveal a serene second theme. Tranquillity and portent both speak and battle for dominance – a sense of Finlandia-ish defiance is palpable.
The blistering scherzo is a prelude to the finale, the interchange between its fast, bustling section and the contrasting lyrical pastorale serving only to heighten its internal tension. The 3-note motif is still present, including in the nine repeated notes the oboe plaintively calls to open the pastoral interlude. Watch out when this gentle theme comes around a second time and Sibelius shifts it into higher gear. The orchestra begins to churn and fuse its encapsulated energy, and the release that pours into the finale is as ecstatic as it is magnificent.
The 3-note figure now blazes into full splendour. Between each soaring climax, pensive contemplation fills the orchestra, like storm clouds waiting to reveal the sun. Strings and woodwind swirl inexorably, with brass and timpani laying a carpet of solidarity in their path. Sibelius’s symphonic turbine is still ramping up. In the final pages, following a series of 3-note figures building up inexorably towards the end, you will hear the trumpets play A-B-C# – and then ascend to a resolute fourth note, D. Reaching its final form, the symphony ends with a titanic paean in radiant D major.
The Second Symphony, completed in 1902, has always been one of Sibelius’s most popular works. Its importance during its time reflects Finland’s fight for independence from the Russian empire. Like the 1899 Finlandia, the symphony’s heroic stature must have spoken to its people, their struggles upheld by sisu, the dauntless spirit of the Finns.
Notes by Chia Han-Leon
Instrumentation: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, strings
Schools represented in the Singapore National Youth Orchestra
Ai Tong School
Anderson Serangoon Junior College
Ang Mo Kio Secondary School
Anglican High School
Anglo-Chinese Junior College
Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road)
Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) (Junior College)
Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) (Secondary)
Anglo-Chinese School (International)
Broadrick Secondary School
Bukit Panjang Government High School
Bukit Timah Primary School
Canadian International School
Catholic High School (Primary)
Catholic High School (Secondary)
Changkat Primary School
CHIJ Our Lady of the Nativity
CHIJ Secondary (Toa Payoh)
CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’ School (Primary)
CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’ School (Secondary)
Chung Cheng High School (Yishun)
Clementi Town Secondary School
Crescent Girls’ School
Dulwich College (Singapore)
Dunman High School (Junior College)
Dunman High School (Secondary)
Dunman Secondary School
Edgefield Secondary School
Eunoia Junior College
Fairfield Methodist School (Secondary)
Gan Eng Seng School
Hai Sing Catholic School
Hong Wen School
Hwa Chong Institution (Junior College)
Hwa Chong International School
Jurong Pioneer Junior College
Mayflower Secondary School
Meridian Primary School
Methodist Girls’ School (Primary)
Methodist Girls’ School (Secondary)
Nan Chiau Primary School
Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts
Nanyang Girls’ High School
Nanyang Junior College
Nanyang Primary School
Nanyang Technological University
National Junior College
National Junior College (Secondary)
National University of Singapore
NUS High School of Mathematics and Science
Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School
Raffles Girls’ School (Secondary)
Raffles Institution (Junior College)
Raffles Institution (Secondary)
River Valley High School (Secondary)
School of the Arts, Singapore
Singapore American School
Singapore Chinese Girls’ Primary School
Singapore Chinese Girls’ School
Singapore Management University
Singapore Polytechnic
St. Andrew’s Secondary School
St. Gabriel’s Secondary School
St. Hilda’s Primary School
St. Joseph’s Institution (Junior College)
St. Joseph’s Institution (Secondary)
St. Margaret’s School (Secondary)
St. Patrick’s School
Stamford American International School
Tanglin Trust School
Tanjong Katong Girls’ School
Tanjong Katong Secondary School
Tao Nan School
Temasek Junior College
Temasek Polytechnic
United World College of South East Asia
Unity Secondary School
Victoria Junior College
Victoria School
Yishun Innova Junior College
Yuying Secondary School
Singapore Symphony Group Administration
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Kenneth Kwok
DEPUTY CEO, PROGRAMMES & PRODUCTION
Kok Tse Wei
DEPUTY CEO, PATRONS & CORPORATE SERVICES
Jenny Ang
CEO OFFICE
Shirin Foo
Musriah Bte Md Salleh
ORGANISATION DEVELOPMENT
Lillian Yin
ARTISTIC PLANNING
Hans Sørensen (Head)
Christopher Cheong
Artistic Administration
Jodie Chiang
Terrence Wong
Jocelyn Cheng
Michelle Yeo
OPERATIONS
Ernest Khoo (Head)
Library
Wong Yi Wen
Cheng Yee Ki
Orchestra Management
Chia Jit Min (Head)
Charis Peck Xin Hui
Kelvin Chua
Production Management
Noraihan Bte Nordin
Nazem Redzuan
Leong Shan Yi
Asyiq Iqmal
Khairi Edzhairee
Khairul Nizam
Benjamin Chiau
Digital Production
Avik Chari
COMMUNITY IMPACT
Community Engagement
Kua Li Leng (Head)
Samantha Lim
Whitney Tan
Lynnette Chng
Choral Programmes
Kua Li Leng (Head)
Lu Heng
Chang Hai Wen
Mimi Syaahira
Singapore National Youth Orchestra
Ramu Thiruyanam (Head)
Tang Ya Yun
Tan Sing Yee
Ridha Ridza
ABRSM
Patricia Yee
Lai Li-Yng
Joong Siow Chong
Freddie Loh
May Looi
PATRONS
Development
Chelsea Zhao (Head)
Nikki Chuang
Sarah Wee
Kevin Yeoh
Brandon Lim
Communications,
Digital & Marketing
Cindy Lim (Head)
Communications
Elliot Lim
Elizabeth Low
Clairene Tan
Digital & Marketing
Chia Han-Leon
Calista Lee
Myrtle Lee
Hong Shu Hui
Jana Loh
Kashmira Kasmuri
Customer Experience
Randy Teo
Dacia Cheang
Joy Tagore
CORPORATE SERVICES
Finance, IT & Facilities
Rick Ong (Head)
Alan Ong
Goh Hoey Fen
Loh Chin Huat
Md Zailani Bin Md Said
Human Resources & Administration
Valeria Tan (Head)
Janice Yeo
Fionn Tan
Netty Diyanah Bte Osman
Acknowledgements
WITH SUPPORT FROM MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, ARTS EDUCATION BRANCH
Mrs Clara Lim-Tan
Director, Arts Education
Mr Low Ying Ning Deputy Director, Music & Drama
Ms Chek Yui Hong
Assistant Director, Visual and Performing Arts CCA & Singapore Youth Festival
Mr Jasper Lee Arts Education Officer, Music
THE SINGAPORE NATIONAL YOUTH ORCHESTRA WISHES TO THANK
National Arts Council
Tutors of the Singapore National Youth Orchestra
Parents of the Singapore National Youth Orchestra members
Principals of the participating schools
Upcoming Concerts
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Ticket sales to be announced.
For details, visit SSO.ORG.SG.