SSO CLASSICS IN THE PARK:
14 MAY 2017 Sun | 6PM SHAW FOUNDATION SYMPHONY STAGE SINGAPORE BOTANIC GARDENS
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 673seat Victoria Concert Hall, the home of the SSO. The orchestra performs 100 concerts a year, and The Guardian 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.
‘A fine display of orchestral bravado for the SSO and Shui’
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 Prague Spring International Music Festival. 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.
Jason Lai conductor Jason Lai has been Associate Conductor of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra since 2013, but he has been a prominent figure in Singapore’s musical life since 2010 when he was appointed Principal Conductor of the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Orchestra. Earlier this year he was appointed conductor of Singapore’s first professional chamber orchestra, re:SOUND. Intent on broadening the appeal of classical music to new audiences, Jason is also building a unique reputation through his television appearances in both the UK and Asia. He has frequently appeared on BBC television as a judge in both the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition and the classical talent show “Classical Star”. Other BBC television appearances have include “How a Choir Works” and “The Culture Show”. Jason also starred in “Clash” for the children’s television channel, CBBC. Since settling in Singapore he has continued with his television work. He was presenter and conductor for “Project Symphony”, an eight-part series for Okto where he was filmed setting up a community orchestra. This year he has been heavily involved filming for a BBC series called “Heart of Asia” which explores the contemporary arts and culture scene in Thailand, Indonesia, Korea and the Philippines, and a further series for BBC World called “Tales from Modern China”. Jason’s roots lie in Hong Kong but he was born in the UK and was a pupil at the prestigious specialist music school in Manchester, Chetham’s, where he studied cello. At Oxford University he studied both cello and composition, and went on to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London where he was awarded a Fellowship in Conducting. Despite having toured as a cellist with the Allegri String Quartet and having been a finalist in the BBC Young Composers Award, Jason gravitated increasingly towards conducting after he won the BBC Young Conductors Workshop in 2002. This led to his appointment as Assistant Conductor to the BBC Philharmonic with whom he made his BBC Proms début in 2003. He was appointed Artist Associate to the Hong Kong Sinfonietta and became their Associate Conductor in 2009. Education is an important part of Jason’s work in Singapore. At the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory he trains the next generation of conductors, many of whom have had many successes both at home and abroad, and with the SSO he spearheads the education and outreach programme, helping the orchestra reach new audiences notably through the Discovering Music series and Concerts for Children.
GIUSEPPE VERDI (1813–1901) Overture to La Forza del Destino Three declamatory chords announce the opening of Verdi’s 26th opera, La Forza del Destino (“The Force of Destiny”). Composed between 1861 and 1862, the opera originally had a conventional prelude. However, in 1869, Verdi revised the score and replaced the prelude with the Overture you hear today. Essentially serving as a ‘trailer’ to the opera, the Overture begins with the “destiny” or “fate” motif, before embarking on a brilliantly virtuosic flythrough of the opera’s main themes.
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756–1791) Clarinet Concerto in A major, K.622: Adagio (second movement) Mozart’s last concerto – written for the Clarinet – was originally written for the basset clarinet and later, after Mozart’s death, revised to fit the range of the modern-day clarinet. One of Mozart’s timelessly sublime slow movements, the seamlessly graceful phrases in this wondrous Adagio are sung by the clarinet.
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY (1840–1893) Symphony No.6 in B minor, Op.74 “Pathétique”: Allegro con grazia (second movement) Composed in 1893, Tchaikovsky’s last symphony, the Pathétique (“Passionate”) features a famously lopsided waltz, set in 5/4 time, as its second movement. While lyrical with a tinge of melancholy, its time signature renders it a rather unwieldy waltz to dance to. However undanceable it might be, this waltz’s charm and flow has made it one of the most popular in the symphonic repertory.
JULES MASSENET (1842–1912) Méditation from Thaïs Massenet’s opera, Thaïs, tells the story of the eponymous Egyptian courtesan who converted to Christianity and became a saint. Thaïs encounters a monk, who tries to persuade her to leave her hedonistic life and find salvation in God. The Méditation is performed after, and is a musical depiction of her time of reflection. Following this, Thaïs decides to follow the monk, away from her previous life, and into the desert. The Méditation has since taken on a life of its own in violin recitals and encores after concerto performances worldwide.
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY (1840–1893) Symphony No.4 in F minor, Op.36: Finale: Allegro con fuoco (fourth movement) A far cry from the charming waltz of his sixth Symphony, the Finale of Tchaikovsky’s 4th is an exhilarating rush. This festive movement provides an exuberant finale to the darker emotions of the preceding movements. Tchaikovsky wrote about this movement: “If you cannot discover the reasons for happiness in yourself, look at others. Get out among the people. Look at what a good time they have simply surrendering themselves to joy.”
Programme notes by Christopher Cheong
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