Singapore Symphony Orchestra Jul 2022

HANS GRAF Music Director

CONCERT PROGRAMME JULY 2022

HAN-NA CHANG AND CHUREN LI – BEETHOVEN AND GRIEG YEOL EUM SON PLAYS MOZART TEMASEK FOUNDATION SSO HANS GRAF INAUGURAL CONCERT

HANS GRAF INAUGURAL CONCERT PRESENTED BY

Upcoming Concerts

TEMASEK FOUNDATION SSO NATIONAL DAY CONCERT 2022 13 Aug 2022, 7:30PM Esplanade Concert Hall Tickets: $15 - $48

HANS GRAF AND VADIM GLUZMAN – BEETHOVEN AND SHOSTAKOVICH 5 & 6 Aug 2022, 7:30PM Victoria Concert Hall Tickets: $15 - $88

PRESIDENT’S YOUNG PERFORMERS CONCERT 26 & 27 Aug 2022, 7:30PM Victoria Concert Hall Tickets: $15 - $48

MOZART PIANO CONCERTO 24 AND BRAHMS SYMPHONY 1 18 Aug 2022, 7:30PM Esplanade Concert Hall Tickets: $15 - $88

Jul 2022 HAN-NA CHANG AND CHUREN LI – BEETHOVEN AND GRIEG

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16 Jul 2022, Sat Esplanade Concert Hall A

YEOL EUM SON PLAYS MOZART 21 & 22 Jul 2022, Thu & Fri Victoria Concert Hall

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A

TEMASEK FOUNDATION SSO HANS GRAF INAUGURAL CONCERT 28 & 29 Jul 2022, Thu & Fri Esplanade Concert Hall

For the enjoyment of all patrons during the concert: • Please switch off or silence all electronic devices.

• Please minimise noises during performance.

If unavoidable, wait for a loud section in the music.

• No photography, video or audio recording is allowed when artists are performing.

• Non-flash photography is allowed only during bows and applause when no performance is taking place.

Go green. Digital programme books are available on www.sso.org.sg.

Photographs and videos will be taken at these events, in which you may appear. These may be published on the SSO’s publicity channels and materials. By attending the event, you consent to the use of these photographs and videos for the foregoing purposes.

A Autograph session

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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. In 2021, the SSO clinched third place in the prestigious Orchestra of the Year Award by Gramophone.

In July 2022, the SSO appointed renowned Austrian conductor Hans Graf as its Music Director, the third in the orchestra’s history after Lan Shui (1997–2019) and Choo Hoey (1979–1996). Prior to this, Hans Graf served as Chief Conductor from 2020, leading the SSO in keeping music alive during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The SSO makes its performing home at the 1,800-seat state-of-the-art Esplanade Concert Hall. More intimate works, as well as outreach and community performances

take place at the 673-seat Victoria Concert Hall, the Home of the SSO. The orchestra performs over 60 concerts a year, and its versatile repertoire spans all-time favourites and orchestral masterpieces to exciting cutting-edge premieres. The SSO launched its digital concert hall, SSOLOUNGE, in 2021. Bridging the musical traditions of East and West, Singaporean and Asian musicians and composers are regularly showcased in the concert season.

Beyond Singapore, 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 second performance at the Berlin Philharmonie. In 2014 the SSO’s debut at the 120th BBC Proms in London received critical acclaim in the major UK newspapers The Guardian and The Telegraph. The SSO has also performed in China on multiple occasions.

The SSO has released more than 50 recordings, with over 30 on the BIS label.

The most recent critically acclaimed albums include a Rachmaninoff box set (2021), Richard Strauss’ “Rosenkavalier and Other Works” (2020), and three Debussy discs “La Mer”, “Jeux” and “Nocturnes”. A Four Seasons album and a complete Mozart Violin Concerto cycle with Chloe Chua and Hans Graf will be released in the near future.

The SSO has also collaborated with such great artists as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Gustavo Dudamel, Charles Dutoit, Joe Hisaishi, Neeme Järvi, Okko Kamu, Hannu Lintu, Andrew Litton, Lorin Maazel, Martha Argerich, Ray Chen, Diana Damrau, Stephen Hough, Janine Jansen, Leonidas Kavakos,

H ANS G RAF Music Director Lang Lang, Yo-Yo Ma, Gil Shaham and Krystian Zimerman.

The SSO is part of the Singapore Symphony Group, which also manages the Singapore Symphony Choruses, the Singapore National Youth Orchestra, and the VCHpresents chamber music series, the Singapore International Piano Festival and the biennial National Piano & Violin Competition.

The mission of the Group is to create memorable shared experiences with music. Through the SSO and its affiliated performing groups, we spread the love for music, nurture talent and enrich our diverse communities.

H AN - N A C H AN G AND C H U R EN L I – BEETH OV EN AND G R IEG | 1 6 JUL 2 0 2 2

Rostropovich International Cello Competition in Paris in 1994, awarded unanimously by the jury led by Mstislav Rostropovich. Her subsequent international career took her to all major concert halls and top orchestras around the world as an in-demand recitalist and soloist.

© OLE WUTTUDAL

She made her formal conducting debut in 2007, at the age of 24, and has since then focused her artistic output exclusively to conducting. From 2009 to 2014, she served as the Artistic Director of the Absolute Classic Festival in Korea, and as the Music Director of the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra during the 2013-14 season.

HA N - N A CH AN G conductor Artistic Leader and Chief Conductor of the Trondheim Symfoniorkester & Opera in Norway since 2017, and Erste Gastdirigentin (Principal Guest Conductor) of the Symphoniker Hamburg – Laeiszhalle Orchester commencing 2022-23 season, Han-Na Chang’s prestigious and unique international career spans nearly three decades.

She first gained international recognition for her precocious musical gifts at the age of 11, when she won the First Prize and the Contemporary Music Prize at the Fifth

As a guest conductor, Han-Na Chang’s upcoming appearances include the Rotterdam Philharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Singapore, Atlanta, Vancouver, Detroit and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestras, amongst others. She has frequently worked with orchestras such as Oslo Philharmonic, Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Bamberger Symphoniker, the Toronto, Hamburg, Singapore, Tokyo, Cincinnati, St Louis, Indianapolis, Seattle, Gothenburg, Malmo and Iceland Symphony Orchestras, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra del Teatro di San Carlo di Napoli. www.hannachangmusic.com

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H A N - N A CH A NG AND C H U R EN L I – BEETH OV EN AND G R IEG | 16 J U L 2022

C HURE N L I piano Singaporean pianist Churen Li seeks innovative and personal approaches to concert programming, combining diverse genres with improvisatory and experimental practices. The 2021 season included debuts at the Singapore International Piano Festival and Singapore International Festival of Arts, as well as more than 80 solo concerts with the Candlelight series that featured an eclectic repertoire from Chopin and Debussy, to Michael Jackson, John Williams, and George Crumb.

As a concerto soloist, she has performed with the orchestras of the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, Singapore Symphony, Klassische Budapest Philharmonic, Metropolitan Festival, Cambridge University and National University of Singapore.

Consulate of UK. In 2018, she was among the ten pianists selected to perform in the Darmstadt International Summer Course for New Music, and at the Roche Continents programme in Salzburg.

Churen is also passionate about new music, having experimented increasingly with combining musical genres, as well as reflecting on the relationship between musical and societal evolution. In September 2018, she co-produced and performed in a sold-out concert at Zouk, a popular nightclub in Singapore, juxtaposing Western art music in a contemporarily subversive environment. As part of a UK tour in 2020, she co-produced a cabaret show of musical theatre, pop and classical music written by Singaporean composers, presented in conjunction with the Singapore

Churen is currently an Artist Fellow at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music (Singapore), where she had graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree at age 19 – the youngest of her cohort. She attained her two Master's Degrees (in music and in philosophy, respectively) from Yale University and Cambridge University.

Facebook & Instagram: @churen.li

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YEOL EU M SON PL AYS M OZ AR T | 21 & 2 2 JUL 2 0 2 2

© SVETLANA TARLOVA

Vasily Petrenko started his music education at the St Petersburg Capella Boys Music School. He then studied at the St Petersburg Conservatoire where he participated in masterclasses with such luminary figures as Ilya Musin, Mariss Jansons and Yuri Temirkanov.

VA S I L Y PE T RE N KO conductor Vasily Petrenko is Music Director of the Royal Philharmonic, Chief Conductor of the European Union Youth Orchestra, and Artistic Director of the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia (where he has been Principal Guest Conductor since 2016). He served as Chief Conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic (2006–2021), the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra (2013– 2020), Principal Conductor of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain (2009– 2013), and Principal Guest Conductor of St Petersburg’s Mikhailovsky Theatre, where he began his career as Resident Conductor (1994–1997).

He has worked with many of the world’s most prestigious orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony, Leipzig Gewandhaus, London Symphony, London Philharmonic, Philharmonia, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (Rome), St Petersburg Philharmonic, Orchestre National de France, Czech Philharmonic, NHK Symphony and Sydney Symphony Orchestras, and in North America has lead the Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, and the San Francisco, Boston, Chicago and Montreal Symphony Orchestras. He has appeared at the Edinburgh Festival, Grafenegg Festival and made frequent appearances at the BBC Proms. Vasily Petrenko has also conducted widely on the operatic stage.

Vasily Petrenko has established a strongly defined profile as a recording artist. Amongst a wide discography, his Shostakovich, Rachmaninoff and Elgar symphony cycles with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra have garnered worldwide acclaim.

With the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, he has recently released cycles of Scriabin and Prokofiev symphonies, and Richard Strauss tone poems.

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Y EO L EU M S ON PL AYS M OZ AR T | 21 & 22 J U L 2022

YEO L E U M SO N piano Yeol Eum Son’s graceful and timeless interpretations, crystalline touch and versatile, thrilling performances have enthralled audiences worldwide. She is highly regarded as a brilliant virtuoso with a rare balance between enormous kinetic energy and substantial gravity.

© MARCO BORREGREVE

Praised for her eclectic and rich repertoire, ranging from Bach, Mozart, early German and Russian Romantic to Gershwin, Szymanowski, Ligeti and Salonen, Yeol Eum has collaborated with major ensembles and festivals worldwide.

In the 22/23 season, Yeol Eum is Artist-in-Residence with the Residentie Orchestra in the Hague, and will debut with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Finnish Radio Symphony, NDR Radiophilharmonie Hanover, Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias and Musikkollegium Winterthur.

Beyond Europe, she will debut with the Melbourne, Sydney, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras, Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.

featuring Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields under the late Sir Neville Marriner, for whom it was the very last recording.

Yeol Eum is Honorary Ambassador of the Seoul Arts Center and her home city of Wonju, and Artistic Director of Music of the PyeongChang Festival. A double Second Prize winner of the Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition (2011) and the 13th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (2009), she was a student of Arie Vardi at the Hochschule für Musik Theater und Medien Hannover, Germany. She holds a degree from the Korean National University of Arts.

Widely recognised for her interpretation of Mozart’s Piano Concerti, Yeol Eum has won the hearts of the British audience through her moving performances with the BBC Philharmonic, CBSO and at London’s Cadogan Hall, which coincided with a highly acclaimed all-Mozart album on Onyx 7

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Music Director HA N S GRAF

With the distinguished Austrian conductor Hans Graf,“a brave new world of music-making under inspired direction” (The Straits Times) began at the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, where he was appointed Chief Conductor from the 2020/21 season, and Music Director from the 2022/23 season.

Graf was formerly Music Director of the Houston Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, Basque National Orchestra and the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg. He is a frequent guest with major orchestras around the world including the orchestras of Boston, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Vienna, Leipzig Gewandhaus, DSO Berlin, Dresden, Royal Concertgebouw, Oslo, Hallé, London, Royal Philharmonic, the Bavarian, Danish and Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestras, Budapest Festival, St Petersburg Philharmonic, Russian National, and the orchestras of Melbourne, Sydney, Seoul, Hong Kong and Malaysian Philharmonic. Graf has led operas in the opera houses of 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 the symphonies of Mozart and Schubert, the complete orchestral works of Dutilleux, and the world-premiere 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.

Born near Linz in 1949, Graf is Professor Emeritus for Orchestral Conducting at the Universität Mozarteum in 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.

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ART I ST -I N - R E SIDE NC E

Chloe Chua

Chloe Chua (b. 2007) shot to international stardom after winning the joint 1st Prize at the 2018 Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists.

The young star from Singapore has also garnered the top prize at the 24th Andrea Postacchini Violin Competition, 3rd prize at the 2017 Zhuhai International Mozart Competition, as well as accolades at the Thailand International Strings Competition (Junior Category Grand Prize) and the Singapore National Piano and Violin Competition (1st Prize, Junior 2017, 3rd Prize, Junior 2015).

Her stunning musicality despite her young age has captured the hearts of audiences around the world, and her performances have taken her to concert halls and orchestras across the U.K, Thailand, Italy, Germany, China, Saudi Arabia, USA and Singapore, in festivals such as the New Virtuosi Queenswood Mastercourse, Atlanta Festival Academy and the Singapore Violin Festival.

For the 2022/23 season, Chloe has been named Artist-InResidence at the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. She will also perform at the Copenhagen Summer Festival and with the Hong Kong Children’s Symphony Orchestra.

She has been with Singapore’s Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) School of Young Talents since age 4, and is currently under the tutelage of Yin Ke, leader of their strings programme.

Chloe’s recordings include a Piazzolla album with guitarist Kevin Loh, and upcoming albums featuring The Four Seasons and the complete Mozart Violin Concertos with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and Hans Graf.

Chloe performs on a Giovanni Battista Guadagnini in Piacenza, 1740-45, on generous loan from the Rin Collection.

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“ Chloe is not just Wunderkind, she is a great young artist with a fantastic future.” © REX TEO

– HANS GRAF, MUSIC DIRECTOR

The Orchestra HANS GRAF Music Director CHOO HOEY Conductor Emeritus LAN SHUI Conductor Laureate EUDENICE PALARUAN Choral Director WONG LAI FOON Choirmaster

FIRS T VI OL I N (Position vacant) Concertmaster, GK Goh Chair Kong Zhao Hui1 Associate Concertmaster Chan Yoong-Han2 Fixed Chair Cao Can* Chen Da Wei Duan Yu Ling Foo Say Ming Jin Li Kong Xianlong Cindy Lee Karen Tan William Tan Wei Zhe Ye Lin* Zhang Si Jing*

SEC O N D V IOL IN Michael Loh Associate Principal Nikolai Koval* Hai-Won Kwok Chikako Sasaki* Margit Saur Shao Tao Tao Wu Man Yun* Xu Jueyi* Yeo Teow Meng Yin Shu Zhan* Zhao Tian* VIO L A Manchin Zhang Principal Guan Qi Associate Principal Gu Bing Jie* Fixed Chair Marietta Ku Luo Biao Julia Park Shui Bing Janice Tsai Dandan Wang Yang Shi Li C EL L O Ng Pei-Sian Principal, The HEAD Foundation Chair Yu Jing Associate Principal Guo Hao Fixed Chair Chan Wei Shing Jamshid Saydikarimov Song Woon Teng Wang Yan Wu Dai Dai Zhao Yu Er D O U B LE BAS S Yang Zheng Yi Associate Principal Karen Yeo Fixed Chair Olga Alexandrova Jacek Mirucki Guennadi Mouzyka Wang Xu

FLUTE

H O RN

Jin Ta Principal Evgueni Brokmiller Associate Principal Roberto Alvarez Miao Shanshan

Gao Jian Associate Principal Jamie Hersch Associate Principal Marc-Antoine Robillard Associate Principal Hoang Van Hoc

PICCOLO

TR U M P ET

Roberto Alvarez Assistant Principal

Jon Paul Dante Principal David Smith Associate Principal Lau Wen Rong

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

TR O M B O N E Allen Meek Principal Damian Patti Associate Principal Samuel Armstrong

COR ANGL AI S Elaine Yeo Associate Principal

B A SS T R O MBONE Wang Wei Assistant Principal

CLARINET Ma Yue Principal Li Xin Associate Principal Liu Yoko Tang Xiao Ping BAS S CL AR I NE T Tang Xiao Ping Assistant Principal BAS S OON Liu Chang Associate Principal Christoph Wichert Zhao Ying Xue

TU B A Tomoki Natsume Principal TIM P A N I Christian Schiøler Principal P ER CU SSIO N Jonathan Fox Principal Mark Suter Associate Principal Mario Choo Lim Meng Keh H A RP

CONTRAB AS S OON

Gulnara Mashurova Principal

Zhao Ying Xue Assistant Principal

* With deep appreciation to the Rin Collection for their generous loan of string instruments.

1 Kong Zhao Hui performs on a J.B. Guadagnini of Milan, c. 1750, donated by the National Arts Council, Singapore, with the support of Far East Organization and Lee Foundation.

2 Chan Yoong-Han performs on a David Tecchler, Fecit Roma An. D. 1700, courtesy of Mr G K Goh. Musicians listed alphabetically by family name rotate their seats on a per programme basis.

Guest Musicians H AN- NA CHA N G A N D CHURE N L I – BE E T HOVE N A ND GRI E G | 16 JU L 2022

FIRST VIOLIN Stanislav Pronin Guest Concertmaster

BASSOON Yuan Tianwei Guest Principal

SECOND VIOLIN Yew Shan

HORN Alan Kartik Alexander Oon

VIOLA Ho Qian Hui

TRUMPET Jeffrey Missal

DOUBLE BASS Chia Ying Yin

Y EOL EUM S O N P LA YS M OZA RT | 2 1 & 2 2 J UL 2 0 2 2

HORN Bryan Chong Alexander Oon

FIRST VIOLIN Stanislav Pronin Guest Concertmaster BASSOON Yuan Tianwei Guest Principal

TEMAS EK FO UN D A TIO N S S O HA NS GRA F I NA UGURA L CON C E R T | 28 & 29 JU L 2022

FIRST VIOLIN Markus Tomasi Guest Concertmaster Helena Dawn Yah Yew Shan

DOUBLE BASS Chia Ying Yin Julian Li Yongrui BASSOON Riccardo Terzo Guest Principal

SECOND VIOLIN Sayuri Kuru Guest Principal Ionut Mazareanu Sherwin Thia

HORN Austin Larson Guest Principal Young Kim Guest Principal

VIOLA Fan Ran Yeo Jan Wea

HARP Nigel Foo

CELLO James Ng 14

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flourishing society. We want to inspire positive change and contribute towards building an inclusive, resilient and vibrant community, while fostering a caring and compassionate nation.

As a broad-based grantmaking organisation, Tote Board works closely with stakeholders and partners to support broad and diverse worthy projects in the sectors of Arts & Culture, Community Development, Education, Health, Social Service and Sports. Through these projects, Tote Board helps to uplift the community by giving hope to vulnerable groups and improving the lives of all in Singapore.

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H AN - N A C H AN G AND C H U R EN L I – BEETH OV EN AND G R IEG | 1 6 JUL 2 0 2 2

H AN- NA CHANG AN D C H U R E N L I – BEETHOV EN AND G R I EG 16 Jul 2022, Sat Esplanade Concert Hall Singapore Symphony Orchestra Han-Na Chang conductor Churen Li piano*

R O S SI N I

William Tell Overture

12 mins

GR IE G

Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16*

30 mins

Intermission

20 mins

Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 55 “Eroica”

47 mins

B EET H O V E N

Concert Duration: approximately 2 hrs (with 20 mins intermission) A Intermission autograph signing with Churen Li at the Foyer, Level 1.

CHECK-IN TO TONIGHT'S CONCERT Scan this QR code with the Singapore Symphony Mobile App.

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This popular overture, rather unfairly, is the best-known bit of the entire opera. It is no fault of Rossini’s, however, that he was so good at writing very attractive melodies and chose great librettists to work with at a time when Italians were flocking to the opera and demanded fresh new fare every other week. By the time it came to him to write William Tell the opera, he had already finished 38, most of which were successes, although fewer than ten are still regularly performed today. William Tell was to be his final complete opera, however, and he would write no more in this genre for the rest of his life.

Rossini in 1828, the year he began composing William Tell

The story of William Tell, a Swiss folk hero, was here transmitted through Friedrich Schiller’s play, and the overture is dramatic enough to function as a tone poem in its own right. A long, sustained introduction written only for the cello section — an absolute stroke of genius — signifies the dawn, which then explodes into a stormy E minor in the full orchestra. What follows is one of classical music’s most famous melodies: the soft G major tune in cor anglais and flute over pizzicato strings is a deliberately rustic “shepherd’s tune”, a trope permeating much of the Romantic period. This is interrupted by a fanfare on trumpets and horns, and another universally recognised melody arises, a military call for a cavalry charge – famously borrowed by the Lone Ranger franchise – bringing the overture to a masterly close and allowing an energetic curtain rise upon the action to follow.

Instrumentation flute, piccolo, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, strings World Premiere 3 Aug 1829, Paris First performed by SSO 21 Mar 1981 17

H A N - N A CH A NG AND C H U R EN L I – BEETH OV EN AND G R IEG | 16 J U L 2022

GIOACHINO ROSSINI (1792–1868) William Tell Overture (1829)

H AN - N A C H AN G AND C H U R EN L I – BEETH OV EN AND G R IEG | 1 6 JUL 2 0 2 2

EDVARD GRIEG (1843–1907) Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16 (1868) I II III

Allegro molto moderato Adagio Allegro moderato molto e marcato

Among those familiar with the piano concerto repertoire, the Grieg concerto is often (slightly derisively) referred to as Robert Schumann in Scandinavian clothes.

There is a lot of truth to this statement, and one can point to the similarities: a grand piano introduction followed by a very rooted A minor orchestral tune, which is then repeated in the piano; the turn to a lyrical C major for the second subject; a big solo cadenza emphasising formal development instead of raw virtuosity; a relatively simplistic and lightweight middle movement (especially when compared to contemporaneous concerti); and a raucous dance-like finale.

Grieg was indeed highly influenced by Schumann’s music, and he had heard Clara Wieck-Schumann play Robert’s concerto a decade before he wrote his own concerto.

One can spot more than just a trace of the German composer in the Norwegian’s character pieces, and even Grieg’s songs have much in common with Schumann’s brand of Romanticism and repetition. But what sets Grieg apart is how much of this Schumannian influence is leavened with Norwegian touches: the folk dance and melodic shapes of the finale, for example, or even the modal nature of the opening orchestral melody. There is also more than a hint of northern nature in the middle movement, which harks forward to the wideopen spaces and long-held pedal notes in the glorious slow movement of Sibelius’s Violin Concerto.

This piano concerto has more significance in the history of music: Liszt’s sight-reading of the piece in 1870, followed by enthusiastic commentary, inspired Grieg to greater heights as a composer. It also became the first piano concerto to ever be recorded (on extremely rudimentary equipment, in 1909), and has since never left the concert stage or recording studio.

Instrumentation 2 flutes (1 doubling on piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, strings World Premiere 3 Apr 1869, Copenhagen First performed by SSO 17 Jan 1980 (Seow Yit Kin, piano) 18

I II III IV

Allegro con brio Marcia funebre. Adagio assai Scherzo. Allegro vivace Finale. Allegro molto

The Eroica symphony was first performed to extremely mixed reviews. Contemporaneous accounts showed audiences divided into two clear camps, with Beethoven’s friends on one side trumpeting the work’s genius and calling it a masterpiece, and the other denying it had any artistic value. What was agreed upon was that the whole symphony, lasting around 50 minutes, was far longer than symphonies were expected to be at that point in time. More than 200 years on, with audiences now familiar with the gigantic works of Bruckner and Mahler, that charge seems faintly ridiculous, but it is undeniable that Beethoven broke new ground when writing his Third Symphony, with innovations in instrumentation, form, and content.

Mozart’s own famous E-flat major symphony (No. 39) was only 15 years in the past, and the Eroica’s first movement shows Beethoven’s familiarity with that particular work, being constructed along largely similar lines. However, the devil is in the details, and Beethoven’s confidence in his compositional prowess allowed him to come up with several unexpected turns of harmony and interpolate additional passages, including the famous “early return” of the main theme in the horn that confused many of the first listeners.

Drawing of Beethoven by August von Kloeber, made in the summer of 1818 in Mödling © Beethoven-Haus Bonn Source: beethoven.de

The second movement is a long and stately funeral march, justifiably celebrated for its Beethovenian touches: a suddenly dramatic 19

H A N - N A CH A NG AND C H U R EN L I – BEETH OV EN AND G R IEG | 16 J U L 2022

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770–1827) Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 55 “Eroica” (1803)

H AN - N A C H AN G AND C H U R EN L I – BEETH OV EN AND G R IEG | 1 6 JUL 2 0 2 2

climax after a turn towards a fugue passage, where the instruments imitate one another in succession. The long drawn-out return to the original mood is very thoughtfully composed, and the movement peters out into nothingness.

The orchestra chugs back into life with the super-fast Scherzo, a third movement of relative brevity. Beethoven shows admirable restraint in keeping the volume low for a while, projecting bubbling excitement before a full fanfare. This lighter mood continues throughout and eventually spills into the optimistic final movement, which is a happy set of variations on a dance-like theme.

Beethoven had used this theme before on several occasions, including a similar set of variations for the piano, and it proved to be the only theme he would reuse so many times in his life. Other than serving as a piano piece, it had its origins in a set of orchestral dances before being co-opted to function as the finale to a ballet. The symphony takes a much more dramatic approach, however, and even though the piano variations are longer than this Finale movement, the formal weight of the symphony had to be balanced accordingly.

To this end, Beethoven employed wideranging modulations, two fugues, a slower section in a completely different tempo, and several different kinds of dances before sweeping up the full force of the orchestra in a rousing ending, with punchy E-flat major chords tying the package up neatly.

Instrumentation 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 3 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, strings

Programme notes by Thomas Ang

World Premiere 7 Apr 1805, Vienna First performed by SSO 28 Jun 1979 20

SPIRI T O F S P R I N G 21 & 22 Jul 2022, Thu & Fri Victoria Concert Hall Singapore Symphony Orchestra Vasily Petrenko conductor Yeol Eum Son piano*

W EB E R

Overture to Euryanthe

MO ZART

Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-flat major, K. 595*

32 mins

Intermission

20 mins

Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 43

43 mins

S I B EL I U S

8 mins

Concert Duration: approximately 2 hrs (with 20 mins intermission) A Intermission autograph signing with Yeol Eum Son at the Level 2 Foyer.

CHECK-IN TO TONIGHT'S CONCERT Scan this QR code with the Singapore Symphony Mobile App.

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Y EO L EU M S ON PL AYS M OZ AR T | 21 & 22 J U L 2022

YE OL EUM S O N PLAY S M OZ A R T

YEOL EU M SON PL AYS M OZ AR T | 21 & 2 2 JUL 2 0 2 2

CARL MARIA VON WEBER (1786–1826) Overture to Euryanthe (1822–1823) Weber’s incredibly energetic and exuberant opening sounds like something straight out of Richard Strauss, while the lyrical contrast that comes afterward draws easy comparison to Mendelssohn. He was the earliest master of German opera, and is today remembered for Der Freischütz, which is unfortunately performed so often enough today that his other operatic works have been overshadowed.

Euryanthe, coming immediately after the success of Freischütz, has the slightly dubious distinction of saddling some of the best music in Weber’s entire output with a weak libretto. It is therefore perhaps for the best that Weber departed from the German tradition of having spoken dialogue interspersed in the action, bringing the German opera genre more in line with the dominant Italian strain.

The initial run flopped, only lasting 20 performances. Schubert went so far as to dismiss it completely, calling it “not music”, ignoring Weber’s fine orchestration and innovative touches; only the overture has survived on the modern circuit. Weber’s craftsmanship shines throughout, and this overture rivals the best of Beethoven or Wagner. Several moments demonstrate the composer’s intuitive understanding of the expanded Romantic orchestra: the timpani tattoo immediately before the lyrical second subject stands out as being unusual, and the quiet chromatic passage for eight solo violins exactly halfway through the work is pure genius. An extended fugue serves as a dramatic crescendo before the broad sweep of the opening music returns and wraps the movement up.

Instrumentation 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, strings World Premiere 25 Oct 1823, Vienna First performed by SSO 12 Oct 1979 22

I II III

Allegro Larghetto Allegro The final movement is an upbeat gigue in the form of a rondo, where the piano happily chugs along with the orchestra commenting on its various joys. The dance-like mood is not impervious to turns toward more dramatic territory, and Mozart’s shocking use of chromaticism in the first movement comes back here, as he occasionally causes dark clouds to shade the sunny nature of this finale. Mozart also provided cadenzas for this last movement, as he did for the first, and throughout, the sense of busyness never disappears. The stage remains full of people; the hall remains entranced; the master ties up all the loose ends and the story comes to a happy end.

The last concerto Mozart ever wrote is coloured by a lifetime of operatic experience and experimentation with instrumentation.

With that in mind, it might be deemed strange that he wrote it for especially small forces, choosing to leave out clarinets — which he had so lovingly treated in his later operas and concerti — as well as trumpet and timpani. In their place Mozart substitutes a greater dramatic sense, with tighter integration of piano into the orchestral texture, and certain formal innovations, like the extremely unusual choice of dominant minor for the lyrical second subject in the first movement (where the major would be expected), and an even weirder B minor passage that seems to arise out of nowhere. Melodic themes across all three movements are also much more closely related than ever, a development that would go on to influence Beethoven and, through that, much of the Romantic era.

There is also greater use of counterpoint in the orchestral interludes, as would be natural after the huge fugue of the Jupiter Symphony. In this, as with all things instrumental, Mozart was guided by his operatic sense, and it is possible to imagine characters from the great Da Ponte operas (Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Così fan tutte) coming on- and off-stage as the music progresses, especially in the tender E-flat major of the middle movement, which has a direct parallel to the Countess’s “Porgi amor” entrance in Act 2 of Figaro.

Instrumentation flute, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, strings World Premiere c. early 1791 First performed by SSO 23 Apr 1982 (David Parkhouse, piano) 23

Y EO L EU M S ON PL AYS M OZ AR T | 21 & 22 J U L 2022

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756–1791) Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-flat major, K. 595 (1788)

YEOL EU M SON PL AYS M OZ AR T | 21 & 2 2 JUL 2 0 2 2

JEAN SIBELIUS (1865–1957) Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 43 (1902) I II III IV

Allegretto Tempo andante, ma rubato Vivacissimo 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 he 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. And that’s what will grow and reach 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.”

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 Finlandiaish 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. The second time this gentle theme comes around, Sibelius shifts into higher gear. The orchestra begins to churn and fuse its encapsulated energy, and the release is as ecstatic as it is magnificent.

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 24

Y EO L EU M S ON PL AYS M OZ AR T | 21 & 22 J U L 2022

Lake View (1901) by Akseli Gallen-Kallela © Finnish National Gallery 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, the trumpets take up the 3-note figure, and for the first and last time, cast a decisive fourth note into being. Here is the true culmination of Sibelius’s symphonic argument, this glimpse of finality, a titanic paean in radiant D major.

the Finns’ struggle for independence. Like Finlandia, the symphony’s heroic stature must have spoken to the Finns – the struggles of their people, the dauntless spirit of Finland, the promise of spring.

Programme notes by Thomas Ang (Weber, Mozart) and Chia Han-Leon (Sibelius)

Instrumentation 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, strings World Premiere 8 Mar 1902, Helsinki

The Second Symphony, completed in 1902, has always been one of Sibelius’s most popular works in the concert hall. Its importance during its time is also due to

First performed by SSO 5 Jun 1981 25

TE M ASE K F O U N D ATIO N SSO H ANS G R AF INAU G U R AL C ONC ER T | 28 & 2 9 JUL 2 0 2 2

T E M A S EK F OU N D ATI O N SS O H ANS GRA F I NAU G U R AL C O N C E R T 28 & 29 Jul 2022, Thu & Fri Esplanade Concert Hall Singapore Symphony Orchestra Hans Graf Music Director Chloe Chua Artist-In-Residence/violin*

R . S T RAU SS

Don Juan, Op. 20

17 mins

MO ZART

Violin Concerto No. 5 in A major, K. 219 “Turkish”*

31 mins

Intermission

20 mins

Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73

43 mins

BRAHMS

Concert Duration: approximately 2 hrs (with 20 mins intermission)

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26

It all started eight years ago when Evan received a ukulele as a gift and connected with it immediately.

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TE M ASE K F O U N D ATIO N SSO H ANS G R AF INAU G U R AL C ONC ER T | 28 & 2 9 JUL 2 0 2 2

RICHARD STRAUSS (1864–1949) Don Juan, Op. 20 (1888) Originating from the 17th century, the legend of Don Juan tells of a Spanish libertine nobleman and his numerous seductions, along with his unwillingness to repent. Various writers throughout history have offered their own take on the tale, including Tirso de Molina, Lord Byron, and Lorenzo da Ponte who wrote the libretto for Mozart’s Don Giovanni.

Austrian philosopher and poet Nikolaus Lenau put forth a slightly different take on Don Juan, casting him not as a hot-blooded man eternally pursuing women, but as a man who sought to find the one woman, who to him, was a representation of the incarnate womanhood and to enjoy, in her, all the women on earth that he cannot have. As such, he goes from one woman to another trying to find the one, and at last Disgust, which is the devil, takes hold of him.

Strauss was 24 when he first read Lenau’s Don Juan. Inspired, he began to write a tone poem for large orchestral forces that he completed the next year. The music begins with an upward whirlwind as the strings introduce Don Juan’s theme. Several other themes follow – Don Juan’s trysts with women – including one with a tender oboe solo. Just when it seems that there will be a triumphant ending, all the action grinds to a halt, and dissonant interjections from the trumpets followed by three soft chords by the orchestra depict Lenau’s ending: Don Juan, unable to find his ideal woman, allows himself to be killed in a duel.

Instrumentation 3 flutes (1 doubling on piccolo), 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, cymbals, glockenspiel, suspended cymbals, triangle, 2 harps World Premiere 11 Nov 1889, Weimar First performed by SSO 19 Mar 1982 28

I II III

Allegro aperto Adagio Rondeau. Tempo di Menuetto

Despite being the son of Leopold Mozart, an influential figure in the history of the violin, Mozart never performed significantly on the violin after adulthood. The younger Mozart wrote five violin concerti in total, completing the last four in 1775 at the age of 19 and never returned to the genre, surely disappointing his father, who saw much potential in him, which must have been true if the younger Mozart performed the solos himself.

Scored for solo violin, two oboes, two horns, and strings, the Violin Concerto No. 5 in A major, K. 219 “Turkish” begins with the standard Allegro orchestral introduction before the solo enters and Mozart surprises our ears with an unexpected and captivating six-bar adagio before returning to the allegro. Mozart has taken us where no man has gone before (or has gone since). The E major Adagio is lyrical and contemplative, with sighing themes passing between the strings and soloist. Melancholy and graceful, the ABA form ends with a cadenza for the soloist.

Schwetzingen Mosque, designed in 1779–1791 by Nicolas de Pigage.

The mosque is situated in the summer palace belonging to Charles IV Theodore, a proponent of the Orientalist movement.

It is the Rondo third movement that gives the work its nickname “Turkish”. During Mozart’s time, anything from the East was fashionable – Turkish coffee, fabrics, and fashions, as well as chinoiserie. In the middle of a graceful minuet, Mozart transports us to Ottoman lands as he changes metre and switches to a minor mode allegro as violin and orchestra take

photo: Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten BadenWürttemberg, Thomas Wagner

29

T EMA S EK F O U NDATION SSO H ANS G R AF INAU G U R AL C ONC E R T | 28 & 29 JU L 2022

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756–1791) Violin Concerto No. 5 in A major, K. 219 “Turkish” (1775)

TE M ASE K F O U N D ATIO N SSO H ANS G R AF INAU G U R AL C ONC ER T | 28 & 2 9 JUL 2 0 2 2

up a wild gypsy-like theme intended to represent Turkish music. Without drums, cymbals, and jingles for colourful touches, Mozart here gives us strong accents, exotic chromatic scales, sudden crescendi, and a percussive drone from the celli and basses striking their strings with the bow stick (col legno). As suddenly as it began, the wildness disappears and we return to end amidst the poise and gilded mirrors of 18thcentury Vienna, with Mozart giving us a final wink.

Instrumentation 2 oboes, 2 horns, strings World Premiere Unknown First performed by SSO 10 Apr 1981 (Pavel Prantl, violin)

30

I II III IV

Allegro non troppo Adagio non troppo Allegretto grazioso (quasi andantino) Allegro con spirito The Second Symphony has gone down in history as Brahms’s “Pastoral Symphony”, a reference to its illustrious predecessor, Beethoven’s Sixth (1808).

For a long time, Johannes Brahms composed mostly piano works; he tried and failed multiple times to write a symphony, taking over 20 years to write his first. In a letter to his friend Hermann Levi in 1872, Brahms lamented “You have no idea how it is for the likes of us to feel the tread of a giant like him behind us!”. Brahms was of course referring to Beethoven, who, even over 50 years after his death, left a legacy so great that all other compositions were measured by the yardstick of his works.

“Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul”

However, compared to the struggles and soul-searching he endured to compose his First, Brahms’s Second Symphony came more easily to him. It was written in a matter of months while he was holidaying in the picturesque Austrian village of Pörtschach am Wörthersee in the summer of 1877. After completing the score, he sent it off to his close friends Clara Schumann and Theodor Billroth, a surgeon and amateur musician.

First line from Brahm's Motet Warum ist Licht gegeben op. 74 based on a longer biblical passage, Job 3:1-26 featuring existential questions about the misery of human life.

The beauty of Pörtschach is so apparent in the music that both wrote back with praises for it. Clara Schumann guessed that it would be better received than his stormy First Symphony, and Billroth, after playing it, said, “It is all rippling streams, blue sky, sunshine, and cool green shadows. How beautiful it must be at Pörtschach.” Later, in another letter, he wrote, “a happy, cheerful mood permeates the whole work”.

Horn calls and woodwind chords open the first movement, Allegro non troppo, preparing the listener for green meadows and sunny skies. One tune leads to another, and despite the fair weather, a timpani roll suggests distant thunder and one can almost imagine dark clouds gathering.

A tune that resembles Brahms’s famous 31

T EMA S EK F O U NDATION SSO H ANS G R AF INAU G U R AL C ONC E R T | 28 & 29 JU L 2022

JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833–1897) Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73 (1877)

TE M ASE K F O U N D ATIO N SSO H ANS G R AF INAU G U R AL C ONC ER T | 28 & 2 9 JUL 2 0 2 2

Although the last movement opens with hushed strings, it soon explodes into an exuberant dance. The principal theme of the finale, Allegro con spirito, is based on two melodies introduced at the beginning of the first movement, although it is disguised by the different meters (three beats in the bar for the first, but two beats a bar in the second). These two melodies are blended together to create an organic melody, steadfast and agile. Here, Brahms uses trombones as heralds of joy overcoming suffering and fate, rounding off the work with a boisterous coda that ends with a dazzling display from the brasses.

lullaby makes an appearance in fragments, at first merry but turns poignant. Later, trombones and tuba whisper a strange, shadowy chorale, like harbingers of fate.

These dark shadows hover throughout the whole symphony, providing an apparent contrast between shadow and light, serenity and melancholy.

An acquaintance and conductor Vincenz Lachner lamented about “the gloomy lugubrious tones of the trombones” in the work, to which Brahms replied, “I am… a severely melancholic person, that black wings [of death] are constantly flapping above us”, and that his “little essay about the great ‘Why’ (Op. 74 motet Warum ist das Licht gegeben, or “Wherefore is the light given to them that toil”) casts the necessary shadow on this serene symphony and perhaps accounts for those timpani and trombones.”

Programme notes by Natalie Ng (R. Strauss, Brahms) and Edward C. Yong (Mozart)

Dark and nebulous, the second movement, Adagio non troppo, opens with the cellos stating the theme. It is then passed on to the flute and violins, accompanied by the rest of the orchestra. A prominent feature in this work is the use of counterpoint (two different melodies juxtaposed against each other), not in the Baroque way but in Brahms’s own harmonic language.

The third movement, Allegretto grazioso, offers a respite from the intensity of the Adagio, and here we see Brahms in one of his light-hearted moods. The shortest movement of the symphony, a simple, rustic opening tune from the oboe alternates with more assertive sections in the strings and winds. As with all of his music, he later works the material into a multi-layered narrative with sudden shifts of rhythm and metre that cleverly disguises the main theme.

Instrumentation 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, strings World Premiere 30 Dec 1877, Vienna First performed by SSO 17 Jan 1980 32

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INTIMATE MOMENTS

The Music That Belongs, with Guan Qi

Tue & Wed, 30 & 31 Aug, 7:30pm Victoria Concert Hall Dance Studio Guan Qi, viola Musicians of the SSO Zhang Heyang, presenter

SCAN TO BOOK

CHAMBER

Captivated by the Rose Evelina Dobračeva in Recital Sun, 16 Oct, 4pm Evelina Dobračeva, soprano Semion Skigin, piano

All concerts are held at the Victoria Concert Hall, unless stated otherwise.

Supported by

Supported by

Patron Sponsor

Patron Sponsor

Organ Series

Organ Series Sponsored by Sponsored by

Intimate Moments Series

Intimate Moments Series Supported by Supported by

S UP P OR TED BY

PATRON SPON SOR

M ATCHE D BY

M A J OR D ON ORS

Stephen Riady Group of Foundations

Mr & Mrs Goh Yew Lin

SE A SON PA R TN ERS Official Radio Station

Official Community Partner

Official Outdoor Media Partner

Official Airline

S E A S ON PATRO NS

The mission of the Singapore Symphony Group is to create memorable shared experiences with music.

Through the SSO and its affiliated performing groups, we spread the love for music, nurture talent and enrich our diverse communities.

The Singapore Symphony Orchestra is a charity and not-for-profit organisation. You can support us by donating at www.sso.org.sg/donate.