Singapore Symphony Orchestra Nov-Dec 2019 Programme

CONCERT PROGRAMME

NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019

THE JUSSEN BROTHERS PLAY MOZART AKIKO SUWANAI PLAYS MOZART ZHANG HAOCHEN PLAYS MOZART

SSO POPS

The Music of Star Wars 19 & 20 Dec 2019, 7.30pm Esplanade Concert Hall Tickets: $25 - $98

SSO GALA

Kavakos Plays Korngold 17 Jan 2020, 7.30pm Esplanade Concert Hall Tickets: $25 - $98

The Maltese Tenor

JOSEPH CALLEJA

10 Jan 2020, 7.30pm Esplanade Concert Hall Tickets: $15 - $88

Nov-Dec 2019 THE JUSSEN BROTHERS PLAY MOZART 22 & 23 Nov 2019, Fri & Sat Victoria Concert Hall T

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AKIKO SUWANAI PLAYS MOZART 28 & 29 Nov 2019, Thu & Fri Victoria Concert Hall T

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ZHANG HAOCHEN PLAYS MOZART 5 Dec 2019, Thu Esplanade Concert Hall T

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30

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THE KRAFFT PORTRAIT Posthumous portrait of Mozart by Barbara Krafft

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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.

T Pre-concert Talk A Autograph Session

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.

Under the Music Directorship of Lan Shui from 1997 to January 2019, 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

Orchestral playing at the peak of refinement and beauty Fanfare 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.

In July 2019, the SSO named Austrian conductor Hans Graf as its Chief Conductor designate, beginning in the 2020/21 concert season.

Notable SSO releases under BIS include a Rachmaninoff series, a “Seascapes” album, three Debussy discs “La Mer”, “Jeux” and “Nocturnes”, 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, Gustavo Dudamel, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Diana Damrau, Martha Argerich, Lang Lang, Yo-Yo Ma, Janine Jansen, Leonidas Kavakos and Gil Shaham.

The SSO is part of the Singapore Symphony Group, which also manages the Singapore Symphony Choruses, and the Singapore National Youth Orchestra.

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

Through the SSO and its affiliate performing groups, we spread the love for music, nurture talent and enrich Singapore’s diverse communities.

Tote Board’s goal is to help build a

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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www.toteboard.gov.sg

T H E J U S S E N B R O T H E R S P L A Y M O Z A R T | 22 & 23 NOV 2019

GABRIEL BEBESELEA conductor Gabriel Bebeselea is the Principal Conductor of the Transylvania State Philharmonic Orchestra of Cluj-Napoca.

© IONUT MACRI

As a guest conductor, Gabriel Bebeselea leads prestigious orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Orchestre Philharmonique de Marseille, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, Tonkunstler Orchestra, the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia and the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia “Evgeny Svetlanov”.

opera conductor, Bebeselea was named Principal Conductor of the Romanian National Opera of Iasi in 2011, becoming the youngest ever Principal Conductor in Romania. In 2015 he was named Principal Conductor of the National Romanian Opera House of Cluj-Napoca.

With the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, he has recorded George Enescu’s rediscovered oratorio Strigoii (“The Ghosts”) and his Pastorale-Fantaisie for Small Orchestra (edition curated by Gabriel Bebeselea). The CD was released under the label Capriccio in September 2018.

Productions that cemented his reputation as an opera conductor included RimskyKorsakov’s The Tsar's Bride at the Perm Opera, Rossini’s Il viaggio a Reims at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro and semi-staged performances of Wagner’s Das Rheingold and Die Walküre with the Transylvania State Philharmonic Orchestra of Cluj-Napoca.

At 32 years of age, Gabriel Bebeselea is recognised as “one of the most gifted conductors born in the last decades in Romania” (George Enescu Festival Journal, 7 September 2011) and is a winner of multiple conducting competitions. A notable 5

© MARCO BORGGREVE

T H E J U S S E N B R O T H E R S P L A Y M O Z A R T | 22 & 23 NOV 2019

LUCAS JUSSEN piano

Stéphane Denève, Valery Gergiev, Sir Neville Marriner, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Jaap van Zweden.

“It is like driving a pair of BMWs”, remarked conductor Michael Schønwandt, after directing the Dutch brothers Lucas (26) and Arthur Jussen (23), who have been part of the international concert world for years and are praised by both press and audiences.

Highlights of the 19/20 season include their debut at the Salzburg Festival, the season opening concert with Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York and with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal at the Festival de Lanaudière. Lucas and Arthur Jussen can also be seen this season with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Münchner Philharmoniker, Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, Berner Symphonieorchester and Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as on their Asia tour in autumn 2019.

The Jussen brothers have performed with such orchestras as The Philadelphia Orchestra, Concertgebouworkest, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, as well as Dallas, Vancouver, Sydney and Shanghai Symphony Orchestras. They have collaborated with conductors such as 6

© MARCO BORGGREVE

T H E J U S S E N B R O T H E R S P L A Y M O Z A R T | 22 & 23 NOV 2019

ARTHUR JUSSEN piano

Further highlights include a Beethoven Piano Concerto cycle with the Camerata Salzburg in Rotterdam in March 2020, followed by a tour featuring the Bach Double Piano Concertos with the Amsterdam Sinfonietta.

In recitals, the duo performs in venues such as the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, Tonhalle Zürich, Wigmore Hall London, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden and at the Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg. As ‘Junge Wilde’ of the Konzerthaus Dortmund, the Jussen brothers will perform a variety of programmes at the Konzerthaus Dortmund over three seasons.

was awarded the Edison Klassiek audience award. Their recording of Mozart’s Piano Concertos K. 365 and K. 242 together with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and Sir Neville Marriner reached gold status and was listed by Gramophone magazine among ‘The 50 Greatest Mozart Recordings’. The duo recently released their Bach recording with Amsterdam Sinfonietta in September 2019.

Recording exclusively with Deutsche Grammophon since 2010, their debut Beethoven CD reached platinum status and 7

A K I K O S U W A N A I P L A Y S M O Z A R T | 28 & 29 NOV 2019

© ALBERTO VENZAGO

In the season 2019/20, Mario Venzago will conduct the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra and the Helsinki Philhamonic Orchestra among others.

MARIO VENZAGO conductor Mario Venzago has been the Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of the Bern Symphony Orchestra since 2010. Prior to this, he was Principal Conductor or General Music Director of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Basque National Orchestra, Basel Symphony Orchestra and the Musikkollegium Winterthur. From 2010 to 2014 he was Principal Conductor of the Royal Northern Sinfonia, and from 2010 to 2019, the Artist in Association with the Finnish Tapiola Sinfonietta.

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Several of his CDs have won international prizes such as the Grand Prix du Disque, the Diapason d’or and the Edison Award.

The project “The other Bruckner” with the recording of all ten symphonies, whose individual releases were acclaimed by international critics, was released on the CPO label. A collaboration with Sony Classical led to the spectacular recording of Schubert’s “Unfinished” Symphony with the Kammerorchester Basel, completed and conducted by Mario Venzago, and the recording of all serenades and symphonies of Brahms. The most recent projects have been recordings of Othmar Schoeck’s opera Schloss Dürande in a new version with the Berner Symphonieorchester and the cantata Vom Fischer und syner Fru with the Musikkollegium Winterthur (both on the Claves label). His first film, “My Brother the Conductor” by Alberto Venzago, shown in cinemas across Europe and released on DVD, received international recognition and prestigious awards.

A K I K O S U W A N A I P L A Y S M O Z A R T | 28 & 29 NOV 2019

AKIKO SUWANAI violin

© TAKAKI KUMADA

Praised by The Times for her “noble playing, with its rhythmic life, taut and rigorous,” Japanese violinist Akiko Suwanai was the youngest ever winner of the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1990, and has since enjoyed a flourishing international career.

In 2019/20, Akiko Suwanai returns to Washington’s National Symphony Orchestra with its Music Director Gianandrea Noseda.

Other highlights of the season include debuts with Camerata Salzburg, Sydney Symphony with Vladimir Ashkenazy, Brussels Philharmonic with Jun Märkl, and New Jersey Symphony with Andrey Boreyko.

Akiko Suwanai in two solo recitals and she has been invited to the Martha Argerich Festival in Hamburg and Leif Ove Andsnes’ Festival in Rosendal, Norway.

Akiko Suwanai is also widely recognised for her master interpretations of lesserperformed works and passion for new music.

In 2007, she premiered Peter Eötvös’ Violin Concerto Seven at Lucerne Festival under Pierre Boulez, and in the following year she took this work to the BBC Proms where she appeared alongside Susanna Mälkki and Philharmonia Orchestra. She also gave Japanese premieres to important new works such as violin concertos by James MacMillan and Esa-Pekka Salonen.

An extremely keen chamber musician, Akiko Suwanai will tour Japan with Nicholas Angelich in 2019/20, presenting a brand-new all-Beethoven programme commemorating the composer’s 250th birth anniversary. She also returns for recitals in China, where she appears at Guangzhou Opera House, as well as in Shanghai Concert Hall with Markus Groh. The prestigious Stresa Festival in Italy will see 9

© THOMAS GRØNDAHL

Z H A N G H A O C H E N P L A Y S M O Z A R T | 5 DEC 2019

Performing highlights include appearances at the BBC Proms, Edinburgh International Festival, Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival, and the George Enescu Festival; and with the Munich Philharmonic, Berlin Konzerthaus Orchester, Vienna Symphony, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, The Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Toronto Symphony, New Japan Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and the Tokyo Metropolitan, Sydney and Melbourne Symphonies.

Recent CD releases include Sibelius’s Kullervo with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and a critically acclaimed recording of Mahler’s Symphony No. 10 with the Seattle Symphony. Other recording projects feature Nielsen symphonies with the Seattle Symphony, Bartók’s works with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos and new commissions with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, and Bruckner symphonies with the Bergen Philharmonic.

THOMAS DAUSGAARD conductor Thomas Dausgaard is Music Director of the Seattle Symphony, Chief Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Honorary Conductor of the Orchestra della Toscana and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, and Conductor Laureate of the Swedish Chamber Orchestra.

He is renowned for his creative and innovative programmes, his exciting live performances, and his extensive catalogue of recordings. In recent seasons, his programming has increasingly explored the influences of folk and liturgical music on classical works.

He has been awarded the Cross of Chivalry by the Queen of Denmark, and elected to the Royal Academy of Music in Sweden. His interests beyond music include architecture, landscape, and the lives and cultures of remote communities.

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Z H A N G H A O C H E N P L A Y S M O Z A R T | 5 DEC 2019

HAOCHEN ZHANG piano

© BENJAMIN EALOVEGA

Since his gold medal win at the 13th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2009, Haochen Zhang has captivated audiences in the United States, Europe and Asia with a unique combination of deep musical sensitivity, fearless imagination, and spectacular virtuosity. In 2017, Haochen received the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, which recognises talented musicians with the potential for a major career in music.

Maestro Dima Slobodeniouk on BIS Records in July 2019. His debut solo album was released by BIS in February 2017, which includes works by Schumann, Brahms, Janácek, and Liszt. In October 2017, Haochen gave a concerto performance at Carnegie Hall with the NCPA Orchestra, which was followed by his recital debut at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall.

Haochen has already appeared with many of the world’s leading festivals and orchestras in renowned venues including at the BBC Proms with the China Philharmonic and Maestro Long Yu; the Easter Festival in Moscow by special invitation of Maestro Valery Gergiev; the Munich Philharmonic with the late Lorin Maazel; the Sydney Symphony with David Robertson; and the NDR Hamburg with Thomas Hengelbrock, among many others.

Haochen is also an avid chamber musician, collaborating with colleagues such as the Shanghai, Tokyo, and Brentano Quartets.

He is frequently invited by chamber music festivals in the United States including the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and La Jolla Summerfest.

Haochen released his concerto debut album with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra under 11

SECOND VIOLIN Michael Loh Associate Principal Hai-Won Kwok Fixed Chair Nikolai Koval* Chikako Sasaki* Margit Saur Shao Tao Tao Wu Man Yun* Xu Jue Yi* Yeo Teow Meng Yin Shu Zhan* Zhao Tian*

The Orchestra joshua tan Associate Conductor andrew litton Principal Guest Conductor

VIOLA

Choo Hoey Conductor Emeritus

Zhang Manchin Principal Guan Qi Associate Principal Gu Bing Jie* Fixed Chair Marietta Ku Luo Biao Julia Park Shui Bing Janice Tsai Wang Dandan Yang Shi Li

Lan Shui Conductor Laureate Eudenice Palaruan Choral Director WONG LAI FOON Choirmaster

CELLO 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 Wang Zihao* Wu Dai Dai Zhao Yu Er

FIRST VIOLIN 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 Jin Li Kong Xianlong Cindy Lee Karen Tan William Tan Wei Zhe Ye Lin* Zhang Si Jing*

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

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FLUTE

HORN

Jin Ta Principal Evgueni Brokmiller Associate Principal Roberto Alvarez Miao Shanshan

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

PICCOLO TRUMPET

Roberto Alvarez Assistant Principal

Jon Paul Dante Principal David Smith Associate Principal Lau Wen Rong Sergey Tyuteykin

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

TROMBONE

Elaine Yeo Associate Principal

Allen Meek Principal Damian Patti Associate Principal Samuel Armstrong

CLARINET

BASS TROMBONE

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

Wang Wei Assistant Principal

COR ANGLAIS

TIMPANI Christian Schiøler Principal Jonathan Fox Associate Principal

BASS CLARINET PERCUSSION

Tang Xiao Ping Assistant Principal

Jonathan Fox Principal Mark Suter Associate Principal Mario Choo Lim Meng Keh

BASSOON Wang Xiaoke Principal Liu Chang Associate Principal Christoph Wichert Zhao Ying Xue

HARP Gulnara Mashurova Principal

CONTRABASSOON Zhao Ying Xue Assistant Principal

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

Lynnette Seah 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.

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

#

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Guest Musicians 22 & 23 NOV

FIRST VIOLIN Vlad Stanculeasa Guest Concertmaster SECOND VIOLIN Lee Shi Mei Ikuko Schiøler DOUBLE BASS William Cole Principal

28 & 29 NOV

FIRST VIOLIN Ma Jun Yi Guest Concertmaster TUBA Brett Stemple Principal

5 DEC

DOUBLE BASS Théotime Voisin Principal Ma Li Ming

FIRST VIOLIN Ma Jun Yi Guest Concertmaster Lim Shue Churn Ikuko Schiøler

TUBA Tomoki Natsume Principal

SECOND VIOLIN Lisa Obert Principal Priscilla Neo VIOLA Yeo Jan Wea

Information correct at time of printing 14

The SSO is delighted to announce Mr Ng Pei-Sian, SSO Principal Cello as The HEAD Foundation Chair.

Ng Pei-Sian is Principal Cellist of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and a faculty member at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, Singapore.

He performs on a 1764 Giovanni Antonio Marchi cello, Bologna.

The SSO would like to express its heartfelt appreciation to The HEAD Foundation for their generous gift.

THE JUSSEN BROTHERS PLAY MOZART Pastoral Symphony 22 & 23 Nov 2019, 7.30pm Victoria Concert Hall Singapore Symphony Orchestra Gabriel Bebeselea conductor Lucas Jussen piano Arthur Jussen piano MOZART

Concerto No. 10 for Two Pianos in E-flat major, K.365

24 mins 20 mins

Intermission

ENESCU

Pastorale-Fantaisie for Small Orchestra ASIAN PREMIERE

10 mins

BEETHOVEN

Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68 “Pastoral”

39 mins

Concert duration: 1 hr 50 mins

T

Pre-concert Talk | 6.30pm, VCH Music Studio (Level 3)

A

Intermission autograph signing with the Jussen Brothers in the stalls foyer.

I II III

Allegro Andante Rondo: Allegro

1779 marked one of Mozart’s most interesting years. He had just returned to Salzburg after a fateful journey around Europe, during which his mother passed; he fell in love with the unreciprocating Aloysia Weber and endured his first heartbreak (but he would later marry her sister, Constanze).

Mozart’s Concerto No. 10 for Two Pianos, K.365 became one of the first fruits of this series of events. Written for himself and his sister Nannerl, the concerto is known to be, in many respects, Mozart’s first ‘big’ piano concerto. He seems to have been fond of the work, so fond that he decided to expand the instrumentation, later adding a pair of clarinets, a pair of trumpets and kettledrums to the score. The original version without these is performed tonight.

The songful slow movement reflects an operatic da capo aria or duet, delicately embellished. The main melodic lines are distributed between the pianos, strings, and woodwinds, creating a buffet of timbres and textures. The movement finishes abruptly, taking the listeners into the finale, Rondo: Allegro. Rhythmic drive in this final movement is contrasted with passages of lyrical grace. Intervening episodes include a dramatic passage in minor modes, a symphonic-style development and an elaborate cadenza before the piece comes to an exuberant end.

The concerto begins with grandeur. The majestic opening phrase for the orchestral tutti is followed immediately by a gentler, softer reply from the strings. With the orchestra concluding its introduction, the two pianos enter together with a sonorous variant of the above theme. After alternating introductory phrases, both parts then join again in the first theme. The second theme, led by the second piano, is more dramatic and ominous. The orchestra puts a stop to it by repeating the opening, and after a gentle recapitulation, the movement ends with a beautifully fluid cadenza and coda.

Instrumentation 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, strings World Premiere Unknown First performed by SSO 18 Dec 1981 (Dennis Lee & Toh Chee Hung, piano) 17

T H E J U S S E N B R O T H E R S P L A Y M O Z A R T | 22 & 23 NOV 2019

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756–1791) Concerto No. 10 for Two Pianos in E-flat major, K.365 (1779)

T H E J U S S E N B R O T H E R S P L A Y M O Z A R T | 22 & 23 NOV 2019

GEORGE ENESCU (1881–1955) Pastorale-Fantaisie for Small Orchestra (1899) ASIAN PREMIERE Romania’s greatest musical son, George Enescu, was a man of genuine modesty and selflessness, and the whole business of self-promotion was extremely foreign to him.

He was an extraordinarily gifted musician: violinist, conductor and pianist, and has been given titles such as “the greatest musical phenomenon since Mozart” and “one of the greatest geniuses of modern music”. His musical versatility and breadth of his artistic views were also brilliantly reflected in his teaching activities. He raised a galaxy of prominent violinists, including one of the greatest musicians of our time, Yehudi Menuhin. Enescu is held in great esteem in his home country of Romania today. The George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra and the George Enescu Festival are both named after him, as is a museum in his honour, and more recently the international airport in Bacău, Romania.

A gentle nature poem in an ABA form with two musical ideas that start out against each other, but afterwards approach and overlap. The work features intricate wind solos, some rather Sibelian material for the cor anglais, and a coda that projects a Tchaikovskian tang.

The conductor himself, who was also in charge of the transcription and analysis of the manuscript, called it “a miniature of extraordinary beauty”.

The Pastorale-Fantaisie for Small Orchestra was written in 1899 while the composer was studying in Paris. It was Enescu’s response to calls for a new orchestral work after the immense success of his Poème roumain written a year before. Premiered in Paris in the wake of Enescu’s breakthrough with Poème roumain, the composition sank without trace then went unheard until relocated by tonight’s guest conductor, Gabriel Bebeşelea, who brought this lost work to the public’s attention and afforded its second hearing in 2017, 118 years after its composition. The lyrical atmosphere of the piece unfolds on more personal stylistic coordinates with a post-Brahmsian tribute.

It is a phase that clearly marks the influence on the young composer of his musical idols.

Instrumentation 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 1 doubling on cor anglais, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, strings World Premiere 1899 18

I II III IV V

Allegro ma non troppo Andante molto mosso Allegro Allegro Allegretto frame of mind from the outset with a gorgeous flowing theme over a rustic open fifth drone. Imitating the bagpipes played by peasants and shepherd, the opening theme instils the contentment of the composer, who once wrote, “What happiness I shall feel in wandering among groves and woods, and among trees, and plants, and rocks! No man on earth can love the country as I do.”

Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony is one of his few works that explicitly contains programmatic content, and one of two symphonies that he purposely named. The Pastoral Symphony reveals the importance and power of nature in the composer’s life. Indeed, Beethoven’s letters are filled

“For surely woods, trees, and rocks produce the echo that man desires to hear.”

The bucolic spirit of the opening movement continues in the second movement, eluding a heightened aura of calm and placidity.

Titled “Scene by the brook”, this movement is a set of free variations on a theme, serving as the Symphony’s slow movement.

In the manuscript score, Beethoven has woodwinds imitate bird calls: flute for the nightingale, oboe for the quail, and two clarinets for the cuckoo.

with such declarations, for example, “How delighted I will be to ramble for a while through the bushes, woods, under trees, through grass, and around rocks. No one can love the country as much as I do. For surely woods, trees, and rocks produce the echo that man desires to hear.” (1810)

In the third movement scherzo, titled “Merry Gathering of Country Folk”, Beethoven depicts country folk dancing and peasant humour. Anton Schindler, the composer’s associate and early biographer wrote, “Beethoven asked me if I had noticed how village musicians often played in their sleep, occasionally letting their instruments fall and keeping quite still, then waking up with a start, getting in a few vigorous blows or strokes at a venture, although usually in the right key, and then dropping to sleep again.

Apparently he had tried to portray these poor people in his Pastoral Symphony.”

The Symphony is also unique among Beethoven’s symphonies in that it is the only one of the nine with five movements and the last three fused into a unified span of music.

The opening movement, “Awakening of cheerful feelings on arrival in the countryside”, puts the listener in a pastoral 19

T H E J U S S E N B R O T H E R S P L A Y M O Z A R T | 22 & 23 NOV 2019

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770–1827) Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68 “Pastoral” (1808)

T H E J U S S E N B R O T H E R S P L A Y M O Z A R T | 22 & 23 NOV 2019

A vivid thunderstorm intrudes violently.

Titled “Thunderstorm”, the fourth movement uses a whole different range of instrumental tones to recreate nature’s rage. The sudden shudder of the lower strings topped with the tiny staccato droplets of the violins acts as a prologue to the violent upheaval. The sudden fortissimo fury, replete with the sounds of piccolo, trombones and timpani is characterised by Berlioz as “no longer just a wind and rain storm; but a frightful cataclysm, a universal deluge, the end of the world”.

The storm gradually dies down and the opening mood of serenity is restored. The last movement begins with a Kuhreigen – a cow waltz, a simple melody traditionally played on the shepherd’s pipe and bugle as they drive their cattle on the pasture.

Exuding the feelings of joy and gratitude after the storm, the Shepherd’s Song in 6/8 begins light-heartedly as if emerging from a romantic’s dream. The theme pervades practically the whole movement. A secondary motif reminiscent of the stuttering figure from the symphony’s beginning adds a touch of symmetry to Beethoven’s peaceable landscape. The coda starts softly and gradually builds to an ecstatic culmination for the orchestra. After a brief period of afterglow, the work ends emphatically with two F major chords.

Above: Beethoven and Nature

by Newell Convers Wyeth

Instrumentation 2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, timpani, strings

Nearly 70 years later, Johannes Brahms would write his own “Pastoral Symphony” (No. 2), which you can hear the SSO perform on 28 & 29 November.

Programme notes by Lin Tonglin

World Premiere 22 Dec 1808, Vienna First performed by SSO 15 Nov 1979 20

AKIKO SUWANAI PLAYS MOZART A Violin To Cherish 28 & 29 Nov 2019, 7.30pm Victoria Concert Hall Singapore Symphony Orchestra Mario Venzago conductor Akiko Suwanai violin MENDELSSOHN MOZART

Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage, Op. 27 Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major, K.216 “Strassburg”

20 mins

Intermission

BRAHMS

Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73

Concert duration: 2 hrs

T A

12 mins 24 mins

Pre-concert Talk | 6.30pm, VCH Dance Studio (Level 3) Intermission autograph signing with Akiko Suwanai in the stalls foyer.

43 mins

A K I K O S U W A N A I P L A Y S M O Z A R T | 28 & 29 NOV 2019

FELIX MENDELSSOHN (1809–1847) Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage, Op. 27 (1828) Making his public debut in Berlin at the age of nine, Felix Mendelssohn was a musical child prodigy and was frequently compared to Mozart from an early age. In his childhood, he had written a handful of operas and 11 symphonies.

of anxiety. A rush of wind is heralded by arpeggios in the flute, and the sailors prepare to sail again. Goethe ends his Prosperous Voyage poem with the line “And now I see land!”, but Mendelssohn takes this further – trumpet fanfares, timpani rolls, and the full orchestral sonorities depict the celebration of the ship’s safe journey into the harbour.

The writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe met Mendelssohn in 1821 through Mendelssohn’s teacher, C. F. Zelter. At that time, Goethe was 72 years of age and famous, while Mendelssohn was a precocious young composer of 12. The two formed an unlikely friendship after Mendelssohn passed various tests Goethe set for him, one of which was to play the overture to Mozart’s Don Giovanni from memory.

In 1828, Mendelssohn set both Goethe’s poems Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage to music, knowing that Beethoven had done the same earlier in 1814. Although both scores shared some similarities including the key of D major (Mendelssohn must have studied Beethoven’s setting of the work), while Beethoven wrote a grand, magnificent choral work, Mendelssohn decided to express the scenes in a wordless, musical painting.

Before the invention of boats with steam engines, calm seas were not desired by sailors because the lack of wind meant an inability to move, causing them to endlessly wait for winds to blow. Mendelssohn captures this “dreadful, deathly stillness” in the beginning in the strings, with the clarinet and bassoon providing undertones

Above: A British Man of War before the Rock of Gibraltar

by Thomas Whitcombe 22

Calm Sea

Meeresstille

Deep stillness rules the water Without motion lies the sea, And sadly the sailor observes Smooth surfaces all around.

No air from any side!

Deathly, terrible stillness!

In the immense distances not a single wave stirs.

Tiefe Stille herrscht im Wasser, Ohne Regung ruht das Meer, Und bekümmert sieht der Schiffer Glatte Fläche ringsumher.

Keine Luft von keiner Seite!

Todesstille fürchterlich!

In der ungeheuern Weite Reget keine Welle sich.

Prosperous Journey

Glückliche Fahrt

The fog is torn, The sky is bright, And Aeolus releases The fearful bindings.

The winds whisper, The sailor begins to move.

Swiftly! Swiftly!

The waves divide, The distance nears; Already, I see land!

Die Nebel zerreißen, Der Himmel ist helle, Und Äolus löset Das ängstliche Band.

Es säuseln die Winde, Es rührt sich der Schiffer.

Geschwinde! Geschwinde!

Es teilt sich die Welle, Es naht sich die Ferne; Schon seh ich das Land!

Instrumentation 2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 2 horns, 3 trumpets, timpani, strings World Premiere 1 Dec 1832, Berlin (conducted by Mendelssohn) First performed by SSO 8 Mar 2002 23

A K I K O S U W A N A I P L A Y S M O Z A R T | 28 & 29 NOV 2019

Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage by Goethe

You may also like SSO CHRISTMAS CONCERT AT THE ESPLANADE

THE MUSIC OF STAR WARS

SELLING FAST

Our annual Christmas celebration moves to the Esplanade with festive classic and modern yuletide tunes.

What doesn't change: tickets will sell out. So don't hesitate!

SELLING FAST

We join the release of Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker with a show of musical Force - the music of John Williams from the Star Wars films, played live by the SSO.

12 & 13 Dec 2019 Esplanade Concert Hall

19 & 20 Dec 2019 Esplanade Concert Hall

Joshua Tan, conductor Singapore Symphony Choruses Eudenice Palaruan, choral director Wong Lai Foon, choirmaster Singapore Symphony Orchestra

Christopher Dragon, conductor Singapore Symphony Orchestra

THE MALTESE TENOR: JOSEPH CALLEJA

A Romantic evening of opera from "The Golden Voice" of Joseph Calleja, featuring arias from Mozart, Donizetti, Mascagni, Tosti, Verdi and many more. Full programme on the SSO website.

SSO GALA KAVAKOS PLAYS KORNGOLD

Austrian maestro Hans Graf returns as the SSO's new Chief Conductor designate, in this concert with violin virtuoso Leonidas Kavakos. The programme of Dvořák, Korngold and Tchaikovsky promises nothing but thrills.

10 Jan 2020 Esplanade Concert Hall

17 Jan 2020 Esplanade Concert Hall

Joseph Calleja, tenor David Giménez Carreras, conductor Singapore Symphony Orchestra

Hans Graf, conductor Leonidas Kavakos, violin Singapore Symphony Orchestra

A K I K O S U W A N A I P L A Y S M O Z A R T | 28 & 29 NOV 2019

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756–1791) Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major, K.216 “Strassburg” (1775) I II III

Allegro Adagio Rondeau: Allegro The oboes rejoin in the Rondeau, and the orchestra opens with the cheery, lilting theme. Several contrasting episodes follow, with opportunities for displays of virtuosity from the soloist. Halfway through, the music takes a turn into the minor key, slows down, and changes from triple to duple meter. The strings dolefully pluck an accompaniment, and the winds sustain notes while the solo violin plays the melody. Even more suddenly, a dance-like tune appears, discovered later to be based on a Hungarian folk tune marked by Mozart to be “à la mélodie de Strassbourger.” This folk tune disappears as suddenly as it appears, and the opening theme returns, as if nothing happened.

Many people recognise Mozart as an excellent pianist, but what they may not know was that he played the violin just as masterfully. His Violin Concerto No. 3, was one of the set of five violin concertos written in the 1770s, intended for his own performances in concerts as a violinist.

“an Adagio that seems to have fallen straight from heaven” The bright and sunny opening of the Allegro is based on an aria from his opera Il re pastore (“The Shepherd King”, composed the previous year) where Aminta the shepherd king sings praises to nature and prays to fortune for his flocks, oboes and horns adding to the pastoral feel of the music. The orchestra introduces the first and second theme, before the solo violin comes striding in.

Instrumentation 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 horns, strings

In the Adagio, by swapping out the oboes for flutes and muting the strings, the soloist shines above a shimmering, gentle accompaniment. As if an aria from an opera without words, the exquisite, tender melody is described by German musicologist Alfred Einstein as “an Adagio that seems to have fallen straight from heaven”.

World Premiere Unknown First performed by SSO 28 Sep 1990 (Andrea Cappelletti, violin) 26

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), which you may have heard in last week’s concerts.

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 Brahms'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 lullaby makes an appearance in fragments, 27

A K I K O S U W A N A I P L A Y S M O Z A R T | 28 & 29 NOV 2019

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

A K I K O S U W A N A I P L A Y S M O Z A R T | 28 & 29 NOV 2019

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.

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

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 meter 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 28

ZHANG HAOCHEN PLAYS MOZART Artistry And Poetry 5 Dec 2019, 7.30pm Esplanade Concert Hall Singapore Symphony Orchestra Thomas Dausgaard conductor Haochen Zhang piano

MOZART

Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K.491

20 mins

Intermission

BRUCKNER

31 mins

Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major, WAB 104

Concert duration: 2 hrs 10 mins

T

Pre-concert Talk | 6.30pm, library@esplanade

A

Intermission autograph signing with Haochen Zhang in the stalls foyer.

67 mins

I II III

Allegro Larghetto Allegretto challenges tradition again by employing rondo form, but his trademark lyricism of childlike simplicity shines through the woodwinds, which comfort our ears with passages of soloistic prominence.

Mozart’s piano concertos often bathe in the joy and innocence of major keys. The Piano Concerto in C minor, K.491, along with Piano Concerto in D minor, K.466, are the only two works in the genre with a minor key.

The dramatic flair of this concerto is further heightened by its large orchestra, the largest ever called for in any of Mozart’s concertos, with a timbral fabric that gives prominence to the winds. Perhaps this is why this piano concerto has been fittingly described

by Mozart scholar Alfred Einstein as “an explosion of the dark, tragic, passionate emotions.”

The concerto concludes with an Allegretto, a theme and variations. It is, however, a stunning spectrum of musical and emotional contrasts that belie such a deceptively innocent title. Yet another Mozart scholar, John N. Burk, observed that “if Mozart could be said ever to have ignored his public in a concerto and followed completely his own inner promptings, it was here.” Perhaps this is the reason why Beethoven was so inspired by Mozart, and why Romantics like Schumann and Brahms considered Mozart one of their own.

The first movement, Allegro, is uncharacteristically in 3/4. Adding to this turbulence is a theme that threatens and dominates. Yet, the movement ends without the big statement that most codas make, with Mozart choosing an unassuming but more foreboding gesture. Apart from having a direct influence on Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto which is also in the same key, this movement has also been compared with the first movement of Beethoven’s Third Symphony, the Eroica, for the drama so inherent in the daring harmonies and motifs that bewildered the tamer sensibilities of patrons back then.

Instrumentation flute, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, strings World Premiere c. Apr 1786, Vienna

The second movement, Larghetto, the trumpets and drums are silent and the music offers a welcome wave of calm after the stormy first movement. Mozart

First performed by SSO 16 Sep 1988 (Alexander Korsantiya, piano) 31

Z H A N G H A O C H E N P L A Y S M O Z A R T | 5 DEC 2019

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756–1791) Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K.491 (1786)

Z H A N G H A O C H E N P L A Y S M O Z A R T | 5 DEC 2019

ANTON BRUCKNER (1824–1896) Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major, WAB 104 (2nd version, 1878–1880, Nowak) I II III IV

Bewegt, nicht zu schnell Andante, quasi Allegretto Scherzo: Bewegt – Trio: Nicht zu schnell Finale: Bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell

Bruckner described the first movement in the following way:

While the first half of tonight’s programme foreshadows Romanticism in the dramatic writing of Mozart, the latter half is the epitome of Romanticism with Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4. In fact, Bruckner himself titled the work “Romantic”. Whilst Mozart’s Piano Concerto in C minor, K.491 was a rarity as it was written in a minor key, Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony, which is actually the sixth in sequence of composition, was the first to be written in a major key.

“…medieval city – dawn – from the castle towers sound the early morning calls – the gates open – the knights ride forth on their proud mounts – the magic of the forest receives them, with forest sounds and bird calls…”

Bruckner finished composing this masterpiece in 1874. However, it was hard to arrange for a premiere. Much to Bruckner’s disgruntlement, the Vienna Philharmonic called it “unplayable”. From 1878–1880, Bruckner revisited the work.

He gave it a completely new scherzo, and the finale was extensively re-written. It was finally premiered in 1881, but Bruckner continuously made revisions until 1889, when it was first published. It is not unusual for composers to make revisions to their compositions, but Bruckner’s reputation in this aspect surpasses the average; perhaps an indication of his self-doubt or the harsh opinions of critics who missed the originality and charismatic style of this great composer.

Today, Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony is his most often-performed symphony.

The sonata-form movement, titled Bewegt, nicht zu schnell, has three main themes that tell just this story. The first theme, just like an “early morning call”, heavily features the horns along with the entire brass section.

Alternating duplet and triplet rhythms evoke the image of knights on galloping horses.

32

Z H A N G H A O C H E N P L A Y S M O Z A R T | 5 DEC 2019

Above: Norham Castle, Sunrise (1845)

by J. M. W. Turner

Bruckner labels the second theme GesangsPeriode, or “Song Period”. The grandeur set up by the first theme gives way to refined lyricism in what the composer describes as “forest murmurs”. The third theme brings back the majestic timbre of the brass section, with repeated French horn calls that recall the opening theme.

ostinato in the strings, themes from previous movements spin forth. This compositional tour de force weaves together a variety of textures, as noble chorales to complex counterpoint are explored. The opening theme of the movement is triumphantly resounded in an affirmative E-flat major at the end, as the orchestra launches into a powerful conclusion.

The second movement, Andante, quasi allegretto, is a funeral march in C minor, and features symphonic writing that is reminiscent of Schubert’s. The sombre mood is a stark contrast to the vitality of the third movement, as it bounces back to E-flat major. Bruckner identifies the scherzo as a hunting theme featuring triadic horn calls, and the folk-like Ländler that is the trio as a dance tune during the lunch break of the hunt.

Programme notes by Khoo Hui Ling

Instrumentation 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, strings World Premiere 20 Feb 1881, Vienna

The final movement of the symphony, Finale: Bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell, is monumental. Opening with a B-flat minor

First performed by SSO 12 Sep 1986 33

The Krafft Portrait This very famous – indeed the most famous – portrait of Mozart was painted by the Austrian painter Barbara Krafft (1764–1825). Born Maria Barbara Steiner in Jihlava, in modern-day Czech Republic, she was by all accounts a most remarkable woman, who followed in the footsteps of her father, an Austrian Imperial court painter himself, to become an accomplished artist. She became one of just a handful of women painters to be invited to join the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, an exceptional feat in the late 18th century, and go on to produce many fine paintings and receive prestigious commissions, including those of three Hapsburg emperors.

Although Krafft lived in Salzburg, Prague and Vienna, cities frequented by Mozart (1756–1791) himself, the two never met. Her posthumous 1819 portrait of the composer was commissioned by Joseph von Sonnleithner, a Viennese librettist and concert organiser.

Sonnleithner borrowed three existing portraits from Mozart’s sister Maria Anna (nicknamed “Nannerl”), as a reference for Krafft. His aim was to commission a portrait of Mozart in his prime, from a painter he greatly admired. Barbara Krafft worked under the personal guidance of Nannerl, and perhaps due to the presence of a Mozart, she succeeded in capturing the composer’s likeness like no other.

And today, 200 years after its commission, we – from little kids to veteran conductors, curious tourists to avid music-lovers – all instantly recognize this painting with the elegant gaze and scarlet gleam, this portrait of the immortal Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Posthumous portrait of Mozart (1819) by Barbara Krafft (1764–1825) Commissioned by Joseph von Sonnleithner for the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde (Society for the Friends of Music) in Vienna Note by Chia Han-Leon 34

2019/20 Season Patrons Our story began four decades ago when we played our first concert in January 1979.

This journey would not have been possible without patrons who believe in sharing the gift of music.

Thank you for your generosity.

patron S P O N S O R Tote Board Group (Tote Board, Singapore Pools & Singapore Turf Club)

M aestro C ircle Mr & Mrs Goh Yew Lin Temasek Foundation The HEAD Foundation

C oncertmaster C ircle Butterfield Trust Christopher & Rosy Ho

S ymphony C ircle Aquilus Pte Ltd Embassy of France in Singapore GK Goh Holdings Limited John Swire & Sons (S.E. Asia) Pte Ltd Lee Foundation NSL Ltd Santa Lucia Asset Management Pte Ltd Singapore Press Holdings Ltd Mr Hsin Yeh & Family Anonymous

CONCERTO CIRCLE European Union Delegation to Singapore Far East Organization Holywell Foundation Limited Keppel Corporation Maisy Koh & Dr Beh Swan Gin Kris Foundation Mr & Mrs Eugene Lai

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OVERTURE PATRONS Aonia Strategic Events Su Pin & Mervin Beng Odile & Douglas Benjamin BinjaiTree Bunli Holdings Lito & Kim Camacho Prof Cham Tao Soon Prof Chan Heng Chee Chan Wing Cheng Cara & Tamara Chang Chng Hak-Peng Mr & Mrs Choo Chiau Beng Prof Arnoud De Meyer Dr Geh Min Goh Swee Chen Ho Ching Hong Leong Foundation Judy Hunt JCCI Singapore Foundation Ltd Dr André Klein Lee Li-Ming Leong Wai Leng Liew Wei Li Mavis Lim Geck Chin

Marina Bay Sands Devika & Sanjiv Misra Kai S. Nargolwala Nomura Asset Management Singapore Ltd One North Capital Pte Ltd David Ong Eng Hui Petrochemical Corporation of Singapore Pte Ltd Prima Limited Saga Tree Capital Advisors Pte Ltd Dr Gralf Sieghold Sinfonia Ristorante Andreas & Doris Sohmen-Pao Stephen Riady's Group of Foundations Irene Tedja Total Trading Asia Pte Ltd TransTechnology Pte Ltd V3 Group Djafar Widjaja Geoffrey & Ai Ai Wong Peter C. Y. Wong Yong Ying-I Dr Thomas & Mrs Mary Zuellig Anonymous (5)

SERENADE PATRONS Peter Chen Kwan Da Simon Cheong Chip Eng Seng Group Lionel Choi Hartley Clay Warren Fernandez Goh Sze Wei Steven & Liwen Holmes Angela Huang & Geo Chen Colin Lee Lee Kok Keong Leong Wah Kheong Lin Diaan-Yi Soledad & Edgardo Mune

nTan Corporate Advisory Pte Ltd Dr Eddy Ooi Jenny Pan Doreen & Elbert Pattijn Robin Ian Rawlings Dr June & Peter Sheren Ron & Janet Stride Dr Tan Chin Nam Tan Sook Yee Tang See Chim Manju & Arudra Vangal David Harris Zemans

R hapsody P atrons Prof Kanti Bajpai Clemente & Juliana Benelli Evelyn Chin Dr Dang Vu & Ms Oanh Nguyen Jerry Gwee Peggy Kek Edmund Koh K C Lorinne Kon Aditi Krishnakumar KRPL Family Fund Kwan Meng Hui Mr & Mrs Patterson Lau Dr Lee Shu Yen

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Dr Leong Keng Hong Wendy Leong Marnyi Alvin & Christina Liew Charmaine Lim Edith & Sean Lim Janet Lim Hong Eng Candice Ling Ling Yu Fei Tony & Serene Liok Low Boon Hon Gillian & Kurt Metzger Izumi Miyake Monique Ong Quek Boon Hui Robert Khan & Co Pte Ltd Charles Robertson Winifred Dente Degli Scrovegni Caroline Seow Retno Setyaningsih Naoyoshi Nick Shimoda Susan Sim Lee Koon Tan Cheng Guan Gordon H L Tan Ivan Tan Meng Cheng Tan Kok Kiong Tan Soo Nan Tan Yee Deng Daniel Tando Tang Li Ping Teo Chun-Wai, Benedict Eddie Teo Teo Ee Peng Alicia Thian & Brian Bonde Andrew & Stephanie Vigar Nicole Wang Remes Andrew & Sybil Wong Wicky Wong Wu Guowei Ivan Yeo Dr Yeo Ning Hong Darren Yong & Connie Chaird Yong Seow Kin Anonymous (11)

This list reflects donations that were made from 1 Nov 2018 to 31 Oct 2019.

We would like to express our sincere thanks to donors whose names were inadvertently left out at print time.

The Singapore Symphony Group is a charity and a not-for-profit organisation. Singapore tax-payers may qualify for 250% tax deduction for donations above $50. You can support us by donating at www.sso.org.sg/donate.

Heartfelt Thanks to SSO Corporate Patrons and Sponsors We would like to express our deepest appreciation to the following companies and organisations that support our mission to create memorable shared experiences with music.

corporate patrons Temasek Foundation The HEAD Foundation Butterfield Trust John Swire & Sons (S.E. Asia) Pte Ltd Embassy of France in Singapore Singapore Press Holdings Ltd Aquilus Pte Ltd GK Goh Holdings Lee Foundation NSL Ltd Santa Lucia Asset Management Pte Ltd Keppel Corporation

corporate sponsors Conrad Centennial Singapore Symphony 924 Singapore Airlines Ltd

B E C O M E A corporate P atron Support Singapore’s national orchestra and form a special relationship with one of the country’s most celebrated arts groups. Starting this concert season, we are introducing a new Corporate Patron recognition scheme that caters to the changing needs of corporate philanthropy. Our concerts provide classy entertainment and prestigious branding opportunities. By committing to growing the arts through the SSO, you can increase your name recognition among an influential and growing audience. Corporate donors may also enjoy attractive tax benefits.

Corporate Patron packages begin at $30,000. Benefits include: 1. Tax Benefits 2. Patron of the Arts Nomination 3. Acknowledgement - Public acknowledgment in SSO concert booklets and website - Public acknowledgement on Donor Wall situated at Victoria Concert Hall (Home of the SSO) 4. Complimentary tickets 5. Priority booking 6. Discounts for ALL SSG concerts 7. Invitations to special events (e.g., rehearsals, receptions, meet-the-musicians sessions)

For more details, please write to us at director_development@sso.org.sg or speak to Chelsea Zhao at +65 6663 4251 * The benefits above do not apply to supporters who give through an event.

patron B enefits Our donors are precious to us. As a valued patron of the SSO, you will receive many benefits.

If you would like to make a gift towards your orchestra today, please visit www.sso.org.sg/donate, write to us at sharing_music@sso.org.sg or speak to Chelsea Zhao at +65 6663 4251.

Patron Categories (updated on 18 April 2019) Prelude

rhapsody

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concerto circle

$1,000 - $2,499

$2,500 - $4,999

$5,000 - $9,999

$10,000 - $24,999

$25,000 AND ABOVE

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Tax Benefits Priority Booking DISCOUNTS FOR ALL SSG CONCERTS Invitation to special events (e.g., rehearsals, receptions, meet-themusicians sessions) Donor Listing: 1. Public acknowledgement in SSO concert booklets and website 2. Public acknowledgement on Donor Wall situated at Victoria Concert Hall (Home of the SSO)

Complimentary tickets to the following concert types: 1. Subscription or Chamber Concerts 2. SSO Gala Concerts, Annual Christmas Concerts, or POPS Concerts 3. SSO Special Gala Concerts

6 tickets

10 tickets

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2 tickets

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2 tickets

*The benefits above do not apply to supporters who give through an event.

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ONLY THE FINEST MUSIC

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S S O C ouncil

Ms Yong Ying-I (Deputy Chair) Mr Ang Chek Meng Mrs Odile Benjamin Mr Chang Chee Pey Mr Chng Hak-Peng Mr Chng Kai Fong Mr Lionel Choi Mr Warren Fernandez Prof Arnoud De Meyer Mr Heinrich Grafe Ms Liew Wei Li Mr Sanjiv Misra Mr Paul Tan Dr Kelly Tang Mr Geoffrey Wong Mr Yee Chen Fah

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Prof Cham Tao Soon (Honorary Chair) Mr Alan Chan (Chair) Mr Choo Chiau Beng Dr Geh Min Mr Goh Geok Khim Mr Khoo Boon Hui Prof Tommy Koh Ms Lim Mei Mr JY Pillay Dr Stephen Riady Ms Priscylla Shaw Dr Gralf Sieghold Mr Andreas Sohmen-Pao Dr Tan Chin Nam Ms Tan Choo Leng Mr Tan Soo Nan Mr Wee Ee Cheong

SNYO Committee

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Nominating and Executive Committee Mr Goh Yew Lin (Chair) Prof Arnoud De Meyer Mr Paul Tan Ms Yong Ying-I

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ARTISTIC PLANNING

CEO OFFICE

Mr Hans Sørensen (Head)

Ms Shirin Foo Mr Lim Yeow Siang

Programmes (SSO) Ms Kua Li Leng Ms Teo Chew Yen Ms Jodie Chiang Community Outreach Ms Vanessa Lee Ms Samantha Lim Choral Programmes Ms Regina Lee Ms Whitney Tan Programmes (VCH) Ms Erin Tan Ms Lynnette Chng ORCHESTRA MANAGEMENT Mr Ernest Khoo (Head) Orchestra Mr Chia Jit Min Ms Karis Ong Concert Operations Ms Kimberly Kwa Ms Chin Rosherna Ms Chen Chin-Hsuan Mr Ramayah Elango Mr Md Fariz bin Samsuri Library Mr Lim Lip Hua Ms Priscilla Neo Ms Wong Yi Wen

Customer Experience Mr Randy Teo Ms Dacia Cheang Ms Nur Shafiqah bte Othman DEVELOPMENT & PARTNERSHIPS Ms Peggy Kek (Head) Corporate Communications Ms Leong Wenshan Ms Haslina Hassan Development Ms Chelsea Zhao Ms Nikki Chuang Ms Charmaine Fong MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS Ms Cindy Lim (Head) Mr Chia Han-Leon Ms Elizabeth Davis Ms Myrtle Lee Ms Jana Loh Ms Hong Shu Hui Ms Sherilyn Lim Ms Melissa Tan

CORPORATE SERVICES Ms Lillian Yin (Head) Finance, IT & Facilities Mr Rick Ong Mr Alan Ong Ms Goh Hoey Fen Mr Jeffrey Tang Mr Md Zailani bin Md Said Human Resources & Administration Mr Desmen Low Ms Melissa Lee Ms Evelyn Siew Legal Mr Edward Loh SINGAPORE NATIONAL YOUTH ORCHESTRA Ms Pang Siu Yuin (Head) Mr Tan Yong Qing Ms Tang Ya Yun ABRSM Ms Hay Su-San (Head) Ms Patricia Yee Ms Lai Li-Yng Mr Joong Siow Chong

2019/20 Season

ORGAN CHAMBER

PIPE UP! II 16 DEC, 12.30PM

ENDLESS SOUND 9 FEB, 4PM

Isaac Lee, organ Samuel Armstrong, trombone

Wu Wei, sheng Joshua Tan, conductor Musicians of the SSO

ORGAN

SUPPORTED BY the Singapore Chapter of the American Guild of Organists

ORGAN, FRANร AIS 24 FEB, 12.30PM

INTIMATE MOMENTS

Franรงois Espinasse, organ

THE COLOURFUL WORLD OF ANIMALS 20 MAR, 7.30PM Cindy Lee, violin Musicians of the SSO

sso.org.sg/VCHpresents SUPPORTED BY

PATRON SPONSOR

OFFICIAL HOTEL

ORGAN CONCERTS SPONSORED BY

Supported by

Patron Sponsor

Matched By

Major Donors

mr & mrs goh yew lin

Season Partners Official Hotel

Official Radio Station

Official Airline

Season Patrons

christopher & rosy ho

Aquilus pte ltd

LEE FOUNDATION

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 talents 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.

sso.org.sg