CONCERT PROGRAMME OCTOBER 2019
SSO GALA: VLADIMIR ASHKENAZY & GAUTIER CAPUÇON FOLLOW THE LEADER • RICHARD TOGNETTI KAHCHUN WONG & KARL-HEINZ SCHÜTZ
SSO GALA: VLADIMIR ASHKENAZY & GAUTIER CAPUÇON IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE OPENING OF
AND SUPPORTED BY
Akiko Suwanai
PLAYS MOZART
28 & 29 Nov 2019, 7.30pm Victoria Concert Hall Tickets: $15 - $88
SSO POPS
The Music of Star Wars 19 & 20 Dec 2019, 7.30pm Esplanade Concert Hall Tickets: $25 - $98
The Jussen Brothers PLAY MOZART
22 & 23 Nov 2019, 7.30pm Victoria Concert Hall Tickets: $15 - $88
Zhang Haochen PLAYS MOZART 5 Dec 2019, 7.30pm Esplanade Concert Hall Tickets: $15 - $88
Oct 2019 SSO GALA VLADIMIR ASHKENAZY & GAUTIER CAPUÇON
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3 Oct 2019, Thu Esplanade Concert Hall T
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FOLLOW THE LEADER • RICHARD TOGNETTI 11 & 12 Oct 2019, Fri & Sat Victoria Concert Hall
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KAHCHUN WONG & KARL-HEINZ SCHÜTZ 19 Oct 2019, Sat Esplanade Concert Hall T
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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.
V L A D I M I R A S H K E N A Z Y & G A U T I E R C A P U Ç O N | 3 OCT 2019
Conducting has formed the larger part of Ashkenazy’s activities for more than 35 years. He continues his longstanding relationship with the Philharmonia Orchestra, who appointed him Conductor Laureate in 2000. In addition to his performances with the orchestra around the UK each season, Ashkenazy joins the Philharmonia Orchestra on countless tours worldwide. Last summer, Vladimir Ashkenazy was named the very first Conductor Laureate of Sydney Symphony Orchestra, an honour never before bestowed on any previous Sydney Symphony conductor. Ashkenazy is also Conductor Laureate of both the Iceland and NHK Symphony Orchestras and Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana.
VLADIMIR ASHKENAZY conductor One of the few artists to combine a successful career as a pianist and conductor, Russian-born Vladimir Ashkenazy inherited his musical gift from both sides of his family; his father David Ashkenazy was a professional light music pianist and his mother Evstolia (née Plotnova) was daughter of a chorus master in the Russian Orthodox church. Ashkenazy first came to prominence on the world stage in the 1955 Chopin Competition in Warsaw. Since then he has built an extraordinary career, not only as one of the most outstanding pianists of the 20th century, but as an artist whose creative life encompasses a vast range of activities.
Ashkenazy maintains his devotion to the piano, these days mostly in the recording studio where he continues to build his extraordinarily comprehensive recording catalogue. This includes the Grammy awardwinning album of Shostakovich’s Preludes and Fugues, Rautavaara’s Piano Concerto No. 3, Bach’s Wohltemperierte Klavier and ‘Ashkenazy: 50 Years on Decca’. 4
V L A D I M I R A S H K E N A Z Y & G A U T I E R C A P U Ç O N | 3 OCT 2019
GAUTIER CAPUÇON cello Gautier Capuçon is a true 21st century ambassador for the cello. Performing each season with the world’s foremost conductors and instrumentalists, he is also founder and leader of the ‘Classe d’Excellence de Violoncelle’ at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris. Acclaimed internationally for his expressive musicianship, exuberant virtuosity, and for the deep sonority of his 1701 Matteo Goffriller cello, Capuçon is this season’s Artist-in-Residence with Orquesta de Valencia. Each season he is invited by the world’s leading orchestras, regularly working with conductors such as Lionel Bringuier, Semyon Bychkov, Gustavo Dudamel, Charles Dutoit, Christoph Eschenbach, Andrés OrozcoEstrada, Valery Gergiev, Andris Nelsons, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin; and collaborating with contemporary composers including Lera Auerbach, Karol Beffa, Esteban Benzecry, Nicola Campogrande, Qigang Chen, Jérôme Ducros, Henry Dutilleux, Thierry Escaich, Philippe Manoury, Bruno Mantovani, Krzysztof Penderecki, Wolfgang Rihm, and Jörg Widmann. As a chamber musician, he performs annually in major halls and festivals with partners such as Nicholas Angelich, Martha Argerich, Daniel Barenboim, Lisa Batiashvili, Frank Braley, Renaud Capuçon, Jérome Ducros, Katia and
Marielle Labèque, Menahem Pressler, JeanYves Thibaudet and the Artemis and Ébène Quartets. Recording exclusively for Erato (Warner Classics), Capuçon has an extensive awardwinning discography. His latest album of Schumann works with Bernard Haitink, Martha Argerich and Renaud Capuçon was released in January 2019. He has appeared on screen and online in The Artist Academy, Prodiges, and Now Hear This, and a 2013 Deutsche Grammophon DVD featuring Capuçon as soloist with the Berliner Philharmoniker and Gustavo Dudamel in a live performance of Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 1. 5
F O L L O W T H E L E A D E R • R I C H A R D T O G N E T T I | 11 & 12 OCT 2019
appointed as the Orchestra’s lead violin and, subsequently, Artistic Director. He was Artistic Director of the Festival Maribor in Slovenia from 2008 to 2015. Tognetti performs on period, modern and electric instruments. His numerous arrangements, compositions and transcriptions have expanded the chamber orchestra repertoire and have been performed throughout the world. As a director or soloist, Richard has appeared with many of the world’s leading orchestras, and in 2016 was the first Artist-in-Residence at the Barbican Centre’s Milton Court Concert Hall. Tognetti is also an acclaimed composer and has worked on numerous film soundtracks.
RICHARD TOGNETTI lead violin Richard Tognetti is the Artistic Director of the Australian Chamber Orchestra. He has established an international reputation for his compelling performances and artistic individualism. Tognetti began his studies in his hometown of Wollongong with William Primrose, then with Alice Waten at the Sydney Conservatorium and Igor Ozim at the Bern Conservatory, where he was awarded the Tschumi Prize as the top graduate soloist in 1989. Later that year he led several performances of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and that November was
Tognetti was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2010. He holds Honorary Doctorates from three Australian Universities and was made a National Living Treasure in 1999. He performs on a 1743 Guarneri del Gesù violin, lent to him by an anonymous Australian private benefactor. 6
K A H C H U N W O N G & K A R L - H E I N Z S C H Ü T Z | 19 OCT 2019
KAHCHUN WONG conductor Born in Singapore, Kahchun Wong first came to international attention as the winner of the Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition in 2016, following in the footsteps of Gustavo Dudamel, who immediately invited him to the Los Angeles Philharmonic as a Conducting Fellow in the 2016–17 season. After a last-minute debut with the Nuremberg Symphony, he was swiftly appointed its next Chief Conductor, for the 2018–19 season.
Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.
Wong has conducted some of the most distinguished international orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Shanghai Symphony, Czech Philharmonic, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken, Konzerthausorchester Berlin and Yomiuri Nippon Symphony. His orchestral engagements in the 2019–20 season include debuts with Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonisches Orchester Heidelberg, Japan Philharmonic and the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) Orchestra in Beijing, as well as return appearances with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra,
A protégé of the late Kurt Masur, Wong had the privilege of sharing the podium with him on multiple occasions in his final years. Wong believes in the power of education to inspire and uplift, mirroring his own journey as a musician. Together with Marina Mahler, the granddaughter of Gustav Mahler, he co-founded Project Infinitude, a grassroots initiative that encourages children to explore and enjoy music. Supported by the National Arts Council, he is currently into his third year of collaboration with Child at Street 11, a non-profit institution supporting children from underserved and diverse backgrounds. 7
K A H C H U N W O N G & K A R L - H E I N Z S C H Ü T Z | 19 OCT 2019
Symphony, the NHK Symphony Orchestra and the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra, among others. As a soloist he has worked with conductors including Daniel Barenboim, Fabio Luisi, Yakov Kreizberg, Dmitrij Kitajenko and Bertrand de Billy. Karl-Heinz Schütz is a passionate chamber musician and a member of various ensembles performing music from the Baroque to the contemporary. In 2013 he succeeded Wolfgang Schulz in the Ensemble WienBerlin and in the Wiener Ring Ensemble. He has appeared at international festivals in Salzburg, Bregenz, Graz, Montpellier, Rheingau, Sapporo and Prague, among others. Karl-Heinz Schütz is Professor of Flute at the Musik und Kunst Privatuniversität Wien and has held several guest professorships. He gives masterclasses throughout the world and is also an active recording artist, especially for Camerata Tokyo, with whom his Mozart, Prokofiev and Brahms CDs were released. For the Chandos label he recorded the CD ‘20thcentury Concerto Grosso’ with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields under Sir Neville Marriner. He is Artistic Director at Horizonte Landeck.
KARL-HEINZ SCHÜTZ flute Karl-Heinz Schütz is Principal Flute with the Vienna Philharmonic and Vienna State Opera Orchestra, having previously held the same position with the Stuttgart Philharmonic and the Vienna Symphony. He studied at the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique in Lyon with Philippe Bernold, and with Aurèle Nicolet in Switzerland. He won first prize at the Carl Nielsen International Flute Competition in 1998 and the Kraków International Flute Competition in 1999. He has performed as a soloist across Europe and Japan, with performances of the major flute concertos with the Vienna Philharmonic, the Vienna 8
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SECOND VIOLIN Michael Loh Associate Principal Hai-Won Kwok Fixed Chair Kong Xianlong Nikolai Koval* Chikako Sasaki* Margit Saur Shao Tao Tao Wu Man Yun* Xu Jue Yi* Ye Lin* Yeo Teow Meng Yin Shu Zhan* Zhang Si Jing* Zhao Tian*
The Orchestra joshua tan Associate Conductor andrew litton Principal Guest Conductor Choo Hoey Conductor Emeritus
VIOLA
Lan Shui Conductor Laureate
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
Eudenice Palaruan Choral Director WONG LAI FOON Choirmaster
FIRST VIOLIN
CELLO
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 Cindy Lee Karen Tan William Tan Wei Zhe
Ng Pei-Sian Principal 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 DOUBLE BASS Yang Zheng Yi Associate Principal Karen Yeo Fixed Chair Olga Alexandrova Jacek Mirucki Guennadi Mouzyka Wang Xu 10
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 3 OCT
TUBA Chloe Higgins
FIRST VIOLIN Lim Shue Churn SECOND VIOLIN Ikuko Schiøler Edward Tan VIOLA Ho Qian Hui Yeo Jan Wea
11 & 12 OCT
PIANO Aya Sakou Shane Thio CELESTE Nicholas Loh PERCUSSION Lu Pei Hsien
19 OCT
FIRST VIOLIN Lim Shue Churn
DOUBLE BASS Grzegorz Jandulski Principal
SECOND VIOLIN Ikuko Schiøler VIOLA Ho Qian Hui Yeo Jan Wea
Information correct at time of printing
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SSO GALA
VLADIMIR ASHKENAZY & GAUTIER CAPUร ON Romantic Spirits 3 Oct 2019, 7.30pm Esplanade Concert Hall Singapore Symphony Orchestra Vladimir Ashkenazy conductor Gautier Capuรงon cello
SCHUMANN SCHUMANN
Manfred Overture, Op. 115 Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 129
25 mins 20 mins
Intermission
TCHAIKOVSKY
12 mins
Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36
Concert duration: 2 hrs
In association with the Opening of the
Supported by
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Pre-concert Talk | 6.30pm, library@esplanade
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Post-concert autograph signing with Vladimir Ashkenazy in the stalls foyer.
44 mins
V L A D I M I R A S H K E N A Z Y & G A U T I E R C A P U Ç O N | 3 OCT 2019
Message from Ambassador of France to Singapore The 2019 edition of Voilah! opens tonight with a concert performed by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and world-renowned French cellist Gautier Capuçon at Esplanade Concert Hall. This concert is a perfect illustration of the France-Singapore Festival’s new rationale as a platform to celebrate the strong partnerships between institutions from our two countries. They are built on decades’ worth of close collaboration in various fields: culture, education, science, lifestyle and sport. The re-imagined Voilah! takes place from 3 October to 17 November this year, with a more diverse selection of around 50 unique programmes offered to the Singaporean public. Thanks to the attractiveness of the city-state, we hope that the festival’s influence can reach out to regional audiences as well. For his first appearance in Singapore, Gautier Capuçon will perform the Schumann Cello Concerto with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. Their concert will be conducted by the internationally celebrated Vladimir Ashkenazy. I am certain that Gautier Capuçon’s debut in Singapore will be as acclaimed as his first concerts in Berlin, Vienna, London, Los Angeles, New York and Chicago. I am also very glad that Gautier Capuçon has conducted a masterclass at YST Conservatory of Music during his stay in Singapore. As a musician who is passionate about sharing his talent through teaching,
Capuçon is the founder and leader of the Classe d'Excellence de Violoncelle: an annual programme that gathers six promising young cellists from around the world to hone their skills in Paris. I am sincerely grateful to all partners of the 2019 edition of Voilah!, and I especially thank BNP Paribas for being the main partner of the opening programme of this year’s festival. My sincere thanks also go to the Minister of Culture, Community and Youth, Ms Grace Fu, for her strong support and to the Singapore Symphony Orchestra for our very fruitful collaboration. I wish all the audience an enjoyable concert. Marc Abensour Ambassador of France to Singapore
Robert Schumann was only 18 years old when he first read Lord Byron’s semiautobiographical dramatic poem, Manfred. The titular protagonist, Manfred, is an archetypal Byronic anti-hero tormented by guilt over an unspeakable secret sin involving the death of his beloved Astarte. Using his mastery of language and magic, Manfred summons seven spirits to help him forget his crime. The spirits are powerless to help Manfred, who nonetheless scoffs at an Abbot’s offer of redemption and refuses to accept a witch’s terms for restitution. Manfred asserts his independence and will to the bitter end, reveling in his rejection of religious authorities and his own supremacy over supernatural powers. Facing death, Manfred defiantly declares:
poem with music” rather than a conventional opera. Writing to Franz Liszt, who conducted and presented the premiere in Weimar in 1852, Schumann confessed that he had never devoted himself to a composition with such love and energy as he had to Manfred. The Overture is the only one of the 16 original Manfred pieces that has endured as a part of the key orchestral repertoire. It opens with three quick stabbing chords, perhaps an allusion to the manner of Astarte’s death. The dark, brooding key of E-flat minor sets the scene for the first theme, which is repeated obsessively, venturing into strange harmonic territory and accumulating momentum and dramatic tension. If this syncopated, restless theme can be said to represent Manfred, then the lyrical second theme, which features a plaintive, sighing gesture, could symbolise Astarte – or rather, Manfred’s visions of her. The turbulence and anguish of the musical narrative eventually disintegrates in the coda. The music expires with two bleak pianissimo chords, a terrifying and grim assessment of Manfred’s fate.
“I have not been thy dupe nor am thy prey, / But was my own destroyer, and will be / My own hereafter.”
Instrumentation 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, strings
One can only imagine how powerfully seductive Byron’s poem must have been to the teenage Schumann, on the cusp of discovering his own iconoclastic artistic path! Twenty years later, in 1848, Schumann decided to create a staged version of Manfred, composing an overture and 15 other incidental pieces for this new production. He envisioned it as a “dramatic
World Premiere 14 Mar 1852, Leipzig First performed by SSO 23 Aug 1979 17
V L A D I M I R A S H K E N A Z Y & G A U T I E R C A P U Ç O N | 3 OCT 2019
ROBERT SCHUMANN (1810–1856) Manfred Overture, Op. 115 (1848)
V L A D I M I R A S H K E N A Z Y & G A U T I E R C A P U Ç O N | 3 OCT 2019
ROBERT SCHUMANN Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 129 (1850) I II III
Nicht zu schnell Langsam Sehr lebhaft
Robert Schumann himself was the personification of the Romantic artist-hero. He poured his soul into his music, even in the face of criticism, mental illness, emotional crises, career-altering injury and obstacles of every kind. Given his tumultuous inner life, it was understandable that when Schumann was recommended for the position of municipal music director in Dusseldorf in 1850, he seized the opportunity, recognising the stability and financial security it offered.
Six days after the concerto was sent off for publication in February 1854, Schumann attempted suicide by throwing himself into the Rhine. He remained in an asylum until his death in 1856. Schumann once declared to his wife, the pianist Clara Wieck, “I cannot compose a concerto for virtuosos, but must light on something different.” The cello concerto eschews gratuitous displays of dexterity but presents the soloist as the protagonist in the unfolding musical drama, a poetdreamer wearing his heart on his sleeve. The legendary cellist Pablo Casals, who performed the concerto frequently during his career, described it as “sublime music from beginning to end.”
“I cannot compose a concerto for virtuosos, but must light on something different.”
The concerto is in three movements to be played without a pause, like an uninterrupted reverie. This unified narrative is underscored by how the three woodwind chords which begin the first movement are transformed and echoed in the second movement, and in the chords that herald the start of the last movement.
Buoyed by the initial wave of confidence and optimism brought about by his new role to Dusseldorf, Schumann composed his Cello Concerto in just two weeks in October 1850. It was perhaps intended for Christian Reimers, the principal cellist of the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra, with whom Schumann rehearsed and revised the concerto. Tragically, Schumann’s mental health continued to deteriorate. The Concerto was one of the last pieces that Schumann personally proof-read.
The soloist takes the spotlight from the very beginning of the concerto with a glorious melody, full of heartache and yet proud in its suffering. The second subject, in the relative key of C major, reaches ever higher into the stratosphere, as if daring to hope again. Drama continues to unfold in the development section before the rather 18
Instrumentation 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, strings World Premiere 9 Jun 1860, Leipzig (Ludwig Ebert, cello)
Above: Album leaf and envelope of Schumann's Cello Concerto. Manuscript in the hand of Bernhard Cossmann, 21 May 1888. Source: The Morgan Library & Museum
First performed by SSO 6 Nov 1986 (Valter Despalj, cello) 19
V L A D I M I R A S H K E N A Z Y & G A U T I E R C A P U Ç O N | 3 OCT 2019
unexpected return of the opening theme in A minor, brushing aside the triumph of C major. A meltingly beautiful bridge passage leads directly into the second movement, where a wistful melody is spun out over a gentle pizzicato accompaniment. A second cellist from within the orchestra joins the soloist in a brief duet, like a fellow kindred spirit offering companionship and solace. The third movement is energetic, brimming with ardour and urgency. There is an unusual accompanied cadenza, where the winds and lower strings affirm and support the soloist, before the music gathers its full force and charges to a blazing conclusion.
V L A D I M I R A S H K E N A Z Y & G A U T I E R C A P U Ç O N | 3 OCT 2019
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY (1840–1893) Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36 (1877–1878) I II III IV
Andante sostenuto – moderato con anima Andantino in modo di canzona Scherzo. Pizzicato ostinato. Allegro Finale. Allegro con fuoco
Shortly after the premiere of the Fourth Symphony in February 1878, Tchaikovsky revealed in a letter to his former student, the composer Sergei Tanayev, “There is not a single bar in this Fourth Symphony of mine which I have not truly felt, and which is not an echo of my most intimate spiritual life.”
and patron. The two never met in person, but exchanged volumes of letters for 14 years, freely sharing their most personal thoughts and feelings. Von Meck was an invaluable source of emotional support for Tchaikovsky and her generous monthly stipend gave him the means to devote himself to composing. He dedicated the Fourth Symphony to her as his “best friend” and referred to the Symphony in their letters as “our Symphony”.
Tchaikovsky worked on his Fourth Symphony throughout 1877, a turbulent and eventful year for the 37-year-old composer. Two extraordinary relationships with two very different women would result in crucial consequences for his personal and artistic life.
Although the Symphony was presented without a programme or accompanying storyline, Tchaikovsky shared a detailed description of the work with von Meck. In the aftermath of his impulsive, ill-suited marriage, it is perhaps inevitable that Tchaikovsky would reflect on his Symphony through the lens of fate and man’s desire for happiness and relief. He wrote to von Meck that the opening fanfare was the key to the entire symphony and was a symbol for fate, an “invincible force which ever prevents our pursuit of happiness from reaching its goal”. This fanfare serves as a sonic signpost throughout the first movement, marking out important structural moments. This was Tchaikovsky’s subtle tribute to the famous opening motif in Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, which was also said to represent fate. The first movement explores various melodic ideas, including a wistful waltz-like second theme for the clarinet, and harmonic destinations, drifting through
Around May 1877, Tchaikovsky received a declaration of love from Antonina Milyukova, a former Moscow Conservatory student. She was obsessively infatuated with him, but he could not remember meeting her before and did not reciprocate her affection. Nevertheless, he married her in July. He viewed the marriage as a means of achieving social stability, hoping that it would suppress the swirling gossip, and his own tormented feelings, about his sexual orientation. By September, this fiasco of a marriage was over. Tchaikovsky, in his own words, “fled” from his bride and suffered a nervous breakdown. That same year, Tchaikovsky began corresponding with Nadezhda von Meck, a wealthy widow who became a close friend 20
V L A D I M I R A S H K E N A Z Y & G A U T I E R C A P U Ç O N | 3 OCT 2019
“fleeting dreams of happiness”. However, the movement ends with the triumph of fate and despair. The second movement begins with a mournful oboe solo, which is followed by a more hopeful response in the strings, building to an impassioned climax. For Tchaikovsky, this movement captures the sense of loss and regret brought to mind by past memories and the weariness of everyday existence. The string section plays pizzicato, plucking their strings instead of using their bows, for the entire third movement creating a light and somewhat bewilderingly playful soundworld. Tchaikovsky likened this movement to the random thoughts, sounds and images floating through the mind of an inebriated man. It is “neither joyful nor sad” but divorced from reality, “wild, strange and bizarre”. In the fourth movement, the curtain opens on a scene of rustic celebration. The Russian folk song, The Little Birch Tree, features prominently in this movement, as the music marches forward with exuberant cymbal crashes. Determined to be happy, Tchaikovsky has now resolved to “be glad in others’ gladness”. However, the fanfare from the first movement reasserts itself towards the end of the movement, an ominous reminder that none of us can escape from fate. The symphony concludes with a frenzied, headlong rush of sound, as if trying to drown out fate with a spectacle of festivity.
Above: Alois Delug, The Norns (1895) The Norns of Norse mythology rule the destiny of the gods and of humans.
Instrumentation 2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, triangle, bass drum, cymbals, strings
Programme notes by Abigail Sin
World Premiere 22 Feb 1878, Moscow First performed by SSO 3 Sep 1982 21
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You may also like CHORUS OF THE PLANETS
Terror to serenity, nobility to mystery - if the notion of a dazzling showcase of orchestral power excites you, don't miss our performance of Holst's spectacular The Planets! Plus: Beethoven's Choral Fantasy and Barber's Symphony No. 1.
AKIKO SUWANAI PLAYS MOZART
Violinist Akiko Suwanai plays one of the most valuable violins in existence, the 1714 "Dolphin" Stradivarius previously owned by the legendary Jascha Heifetz. Hear it come alive in Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 3.
8 Nov 2019 Esplanade Concert Hall
28 & 29 Nov 2019 Victoria Concert Hall
Andrew Litton, conductor Various Soloists Singapore Symphony Chorus and Youth Choir Singapore Symphony Orchestra
Akiko Suwanai, violin Mario Venzago, conductor Singapore Symphony Orchestra
KAVAKOS PLAYS KORNGOLD
Our next SSO Gala features the return of one of today's greatest violinists, Leonidas Kavakos, in Korngold's magnificent Violin Concerto. Also returning is Austrian maestro Hans Graf - this time, as our Chief Conductor designate.
CELLO ESCAPADES
Our third guest cellist this season is Qin Li-Wei, who will pair up with pipa virtuoso Wu Man in a double concerto, and with SSO Principal Violist Zhang Manchin in Richard Strauss's Don Quixote.
17 Jan 2020 Esplanade Concert Hall
23 Apr 2020 Esplanade Concert Hall
Leonidas Kavakos, violin Hans Graf, conductor Singapore Symphony Orchestra
Qin Li-Wei, cello Wu Man, pipa Zhang Manchin, viola Yu Long, conductor Singapore Symphony Orchestra
FOllow the leader • richard tognetti French Inspirations & Mozart’s Jupiter 11 & 12 Oct 2019, 7.30pm Victoria Concert Hall Singapore Symphony Orchestra Richard Tognetti lead violin DEBUSSY DEBUSSY RAVEL RAVEL RAVEL
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (arr. Tognetti) The Interrupted Serenade (arr. Tognetti) Two Hebrew Melodies (arr. Tognetti) The Valley of Bells (arr. Grainger) Blues and Perpetuum mobile from Violin Sonata No. 2 in G major (arr. Tognetti)
Symphony No. 41 in C major, K.551 “Jupiter”
Concert duration: 1 hr 40 mins
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3 mins 7 mins 6 mins 10 mins
20 mins
Intermission
MOZART
3 mins
Pre-concert Talk | 6.30pm, VCH Music Studio
31 mins
F O L L O W T H E L E A D E R • R I C H A R D T O G N E T T I | 11 & 12 OCT 2019
CLAUDE DEBUSSY (1862–1918) The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (arr. Tognetti) The Interrupted Serenade (arr. Tognetti) Debussy’s Preludes need no introduction as some of the most finely crafted piano music ever written. Both The Girl with the Flaxen Hair and The Interrupted Serenade are from the first book of preludes, completed in 1910. The pastoral mood of The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (La fille aux cheveux de lin) shows Debussy at his best: creative reharmonisations of the same tune each time it repeats, with parallel chords (called “planing”) and extremely subtle use of chromaticism. The little descending fragment at the tail end of the theme is developed separately in the middle, changing form as Debussy cycles through pentatonic, modal, and pan-diatonic harmonies. The Interrupted Serenade (La sérénade interrompue) is a little less famous, though it comes from the strangely French tradition of writing Spanish music — think Bizet’s Carmen, for example. In this piece Debussy switches frequently between different kinds of Spanish dance rhythm, never quite settling into one or the other. Largely soft and steady, the interruptions come in the form of outbursts of sound and unexpected harmonies, like a flamenco dancer’s flourishing skirts.
Above: Sandro Botticelli, The Birth of Venus (c. 1484–1486) Detail: The face of Venus
Instrumentation The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (originally for solo piano) Arranged by Richard Tognetti for solo violin and strings. The Interrupted Serenade (originally for solo piano) Arranged by Richard Tognetti for cor anglais, bassoon and strings. 27
F O L L O W T H E L E A D E R • R I C H A R D T O G N E T T I | 11 & 12 OCT 2019
MAURICE RAVEL (1875–1937) Two Hebrew Melodies (arr. Tognetti) The Valley of Bells (arr. Grainger) Blues and Perpetuum mobile, from Violin Sonata No. 2 in G major (arr. Tognetti) The music of Maurice Ravel covers a much wider topical gamut than Debussy’s, often drawing from hugely varied sources. He excelled at writing virtuosic washes of colour for piano, though he also enjoyed writing extremely static “tone paintings”, like Le gibet from Gaspard de la nuit, or this piece, from Miroirs. The Valley of Bells, or La vallée des cloches in Ravel’s French title, is a gently undulating scene of village bells through the mists. His layering technique is shown off excellently here: much of the original piano piece sounds like the pianist has five hands going at the same time! The bells feel like they have been tolling forever, while the audience is quietly allowed to visit the scene for a short moment.
schedule with a heavy compositional load. When refracted through his idiosyncratic Australian talents, a battery of tuned percussion takes over Ravel’s bell sounds. Ravel moves away from Impressionism with his Two Hebrew Melodies. Kaddish is a heartfelt setting of a traditional Jewish funeral prayer, and comes from old Hebrew; the other song (The Eternal Enigma) is a questioning Yiddish text set to an obsessive, almost minimalist accompaniment, as if the poet cannot even find the words to ask about the true nature of the Eternal God. His exposure to American jazz bands in the inter-war years shines through in the increasingly frenetic Blues movement from his Second Violin Sonata, as a quiet opening of steady drones and sexy glissandi is interrupted by the gathering of a big band. The finale, a breathless Perpetuum mobile (perpetual motion), boils over with excitement despite Ravel’s careful attempts to rein it back, and explodes into a great crashing end.
[Ravel] excelled at writing virtuosic washes of colour for piano The Australian-born composer Percy Grainger (1882–1961) was a maverick even at a time when composers were seeking individual paths, collecting huge amounts of British folk music and writing boatloads of arrangements, from Richard Strauss to Stephen Foster. He was the first exponent of Grieg’s Piano Concerto, and somehow managed to balance a hectic concert 28
Instrumentation
Streeton was an Australian landscape painter and leading member of the Heidelberg School, also known as Australian Impressionism.
Two Hebrew Melodies (originally for voice and piano) Arranged by Richard Tognetti for solo violin, harp and strings. The Valley of Bells (originally for solo piano) Arranged by Percy Grainger for marimba, vibraphones, staff bells, chimes, gong, harp, piano, celeste and strings. Blues (originally for violin and piano) Arranged by Richard Tognetti for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 1 doubling on contrabassoon, contrabassoon, 3 horns, 2 trumpets, trombone, snare drum, bass drum, glockenspiel, vibraphone, marimbas, harp, strings. Perpetuum mobile (originally for violin and piano) Arranged by Richard Tognetti for 2 flutes, 1 doubling on piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 2 horns, trumpet, piccolo trumpet, trombone, glockenspiel, vibraphone, marimbas, strings. 29
F O L L O W T H E L E A D E R • R I C H A R D T O G N E T T I | 11 & 12 OCT 2019
Above: Arthur Streeton (1867–1943) Golden Summer, Eaglemont (1889)
F O L L O W T H E L E A D E R • R I C H A R D T O G N E T T I | 11 & 12 OCT 2019
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756–1791) Symphony No. 41 in C major, K.551 “Jupiter” (1788) I II III IV
Allegro vivace Andante cantabile Menuetto: Allegretto Molto allegro
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart managed to write a truly astonishing amount of music in his short 35-year life. Operas, symphonies, string quartets, piano concertos, masses: every genre of composed music in the 18th century has Mozart’s work close to, if not at its very pinnacle. The “Jupiter” symphony was his final essay in the orchestral form, and while not quite as famous as the preceding symphony (the 40th), reveals the fruits of his later-life study of Bach and Baroque counterpoint. It is staggering to consider how Mozart composed three absolute symphonic masterpieces in the short span of three months — No. 39 completed in late June 1788, No. 40 on the 25th of July, and No. 41 on the 10th August!
while labelled a minuet, is really more of a Ländler (an Austrian folk dance). The finale is Mozart’s crowning glory in the fugue form. While the whole structure is disguised as a regular symphonic movement in the opening, a simple four-note theme is stealthily developed into a huge fivevoice fugue, complete with four other counter-subjects that are introduced as the movement chugs along. At every turn Mozart does something unexpected, whether it’s inserting another fragment of counterpoint in the winds, or inverting the subjects between string sections. It is some of the densest polyphony in the Classical period, but also some of the most compelling symphonic writing ever to grace a concert stage. Programme notes by Thomas Ang
The contrasts which open the symphony prevail throughout, with the first movement finely balanced between lyricism and protoBeethovenian rhythmic obsessiveness. The range of dissonances Mozart resorts to in the development section is noteworthy for the false recapitulation, when the opening subject is brought back in the wrong key before further modulations bring the fanfares back in a firm C major.
Instrumentation flute, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, strings World Premiere Undocumented
A sarabande follows, as the slow movement turns to F major (the key of the false recapitulation) for a respite from the dramatic action of the opening. The third movement is another triple-time dance, and
First performed by SSO 11 Sep 1979 30
KAHCHUN WONG & KARL-HEINZ SCHÜTZ Hope and Redemption 19 Oct 2019, 7.30pm Esplanade Concert Hall Singapore Symphony Orchestra Kahchun Wong conductor Karl-Heinz Schütz flute
CARL REINECKE
Flute Concerto in D major, Op. 283 SSO PREMIERE
20 mins
Intermission
RACHMANINOFF
22 mins
Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27
Concert duration: 2 hrs
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Pre-concert Talk | 6.30pm, library@esplanade
A
Intermission autograph signing with Karl-Heinz Schütz in the stalls foyer.
60 mins
K A H C H U N W O N G & K A R L - H E I N Z S C H Ü T Z | 19 OCT 2019
CARL REINECKE (1824–1910) Flute Concerto in D major, Op. 283 (1908) SSO PREMIERE I II III
Allegro molto moderato Lento e mesto Finale. Moderato the somewhat melancholic second theme, before trumpets invite the flute to engage with virtuosity.
It might seem absolutely remarkable that Reinecke’s Flute Concerto was written the year after Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony was premiered, given that it is reminiscent of an earlier era. Reinecke’s compositional style remained rooted in the early to mid19th century, and this Flute Concerto shows off his elegant craftsmanship and refinement.
The timpani begins the second movement with ominous storm clouds on the horizon. Containing much graver and heavier material than the dream-like reveries of the preceding movement, there are some operatically pathos-laden moments, but Reinecke nonetheless brings the movement to a peaceable end.
Though little is known about him now, Carl Reinecke was a major personality in musical Leipzig up to his death in 1910. Born in 1824, in Altona near Hamburg, he learnt to play the piano and violin, and started composing at seven. Later, he moved to Leipzig and studied with his illustrious contemporaries, Mendelssohn, Schumann and Liszt. He eventually became the Music Director of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra in 1860–1895, and was succeeded by Arthur Nikisch.
An enigmatic orchestral introduction gives way to the flute to lead us into the third movement. The flute engages in dazzling displays, provoking the orchestra to respond in kind over and over again. The tempo is suddenly ratcheted up as the flute engages in musical acrobatics to bring the concerto to a triumphant end.
Written in 1908, when he was 84, the Flute Concerto was Reinecke’s last concerto to be completed, and was premiered in March 1909 by its dedicatee – the flutist Maximilian Schwedler, who was also part of the Gewandhaus Orchestra.
Instrumentation 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, triangle, strings
Three woodwind chords introduce the first movement, as the flute ushers us into the gentle main theme. The orchestra coaxes the music to unfold into full bloom, as melodies merge and intertwine with each other. A slightly more rhythmic section introduces
World Premiere 15 Mar 1909, Leipzig (Maximilian Schwedler, flute) 32
I II III IV
K A H C H U N W O N G & K A R L - H E I N Z S C H Ü T Z | 19 OCT 2019
SERGEI RACHMANINOFF (1873–1943) Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27 (1906–1907) Largo – Allegro moderato Scherzo: Allegro molto Adagio Allegro vivace
By the autumn of 1906, Rachmaninoff had come to feel that his concertising activities were leaving him too little time for his first love, composition. He thus moved to Dresden, Germany to escape the burden of public life in Moscow, where he had been in constant demand as a pianist, conductor, and collaborator on all things musical. He leased a villa there, in which he would spend several months during each of the next two and a half years. During this period, he composed several important works, including his First Piano Sonata, and the symphonic poem, The Isle of the Dead. Having finally exorcised the demon of his First Symphony’s failure, he was able to consider the creation of a successor. His efforts won him total vindication when the first performance of his Second Symphony, which he conducted himself in St. Petersburg on 8 February 1908, scored a resounding triumph.
Above: Rachmaninoff in 1906
The Second Symphony’s length was remarked upon from the beginning. A review of its second performance stated, “After listening with unflagging attention to its four movements, one notes with surprise that the hands of the watch have moved 60 minutes forward. This may be slightly long for the general audience, but how fresh, how beautiful the music is...”
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K A H C H U N W O N G & K A R L - H E I N Z S C H Ü T Z | 19 OCT 2019
Numerous conductors did not share this view of the Symphony’s dimensions. Under pressure, Rachmaninoff reluctantly agreed to authorise certain small cuts, a practice which was followed for many years. Some conductors took this damaging approach further still, reducing the Symphony to as little as 40 minutes. It makes its full, carefully balanced effect, however, only when heard in its entirety – as it will be tonight. It is also then that the Symphony is fully revealed as a vast, unbroken outpouring of emotion – dramatic, sumptuously scored and, above all, lyrical in expression. Alexander Warenberg rather curiously also rearranged the Symphony into a Piano Concerto in 2008.
second theme is introduced – a gentle sighing figure for woodwinds answered by whispering strings. This gives way to a rhapsodising violin, and the orchestra grows more animated as the opening theme of the Allegro is developed into a series of climaxes, before surging reprises of the first and second themes take centre stage, and give way to a heartfelt, soaring melody for strings. The violas interrupt and push the orchestra to drive the otherwise expansive movement to an abrupt end. The energy at the end of the first movement is carried into the Scherzo, which in true Russian form – credit to Borodin and Balakirev – comes before the third, slow movement of the symphony. An infectious gallop is infused right from the beginning of this movement, with a passionate and exuberant subject that is tossed with wild abandon between sections. Rachmaninoff provides one of his great Romantic tunes midway through the movement and then a quietly stalking retransition back to the driving main theme.
this music “gives off a vapor of drugged sweetness, of fatalistic melancholy.”
Haydn is supposed to have said of the ‘big bang’ in his Surprise Symphony, “This will make the ladies jump”. Rachmaninoff one-upped him. The second violins start a brilliant fugue which requires utmost virtuosity from the orchestra. A swift transition leads us back into the Scherzo, and a brass chorale cites the Dies Irae (Day of Wrath) motif from the Gregorian Mass for the Dead in the coda.
The cellos and basses begin playing a dark motto theme, from which almost every theme in the symphony stems. Different instruments enter, developing this into a seemingly endless, constantly intensifying flow of melody. Out of this lyrical stream then arises a pensive soliloquy on the cor anglais, which brings us into the main section of the first movement. A soft shuddering, rising scale brings us to the first theme, yet another variant of the motto theme, but urgently pressing forward this time. There is a gradual increase in tempo, building towards a warm climax, before sinking back into silence. A lyrical
Beginning as though in mid-phrase, the violins begin the Adagio with a beautiful sunrise. It is probably the most memorable tune of the whole symphony, but this is only the introduction. The beautiful melody for the clarinet that follows is yet another example 34
K A H C H U N W O N G & K A R L - H E I N Z S C H Ü T Z | 19 OCT 2019
of how Rachmaninoff builds expansive phrases based on just a few notes. Arthur Loesser wrote in 1939 that this music “gives off a vapor of drugged sweetness, of fatalistic melancholy.” Fragments from the symphony’s introduction are quoted, and there is a brief silence. With a musical scene change, various solo instruments, beginning with the horn, quote the opening phrase of the movement. This is the transition to the return of the great melody at the start of the movement – except this time, it is the clarinet that delivers the introduction, and the violins take over the great melody. The finale opens with a wild burst of energy and a highly rhythmic theme that recalls the Neapolitan tarantella. Full of vigour and excitement, it is contrasted with a hushed march for horns, timpani and plucked strings. The tarantella returns and leads into the last of the “big tunes”. Reminiscences from previous movements abound, and the transition back into the tarantella merges the Dies Irae with a network of descending scales, all moving at different tempi, generating a swirl of sound of many bells ringing away. These bells herald a transformed tarantella, which in turn ushers the return of the “big tune” – this time heated to incandescence, and combined with a transfigured brass chorale from the second movement. A blood-stirring rush to the close then seals one of the greatest Romantic symphonies ever written.
Instrumentation 3 flutes, 1 doubling on piccolo, 3 oboes, 1 doubling on cor anglais, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, cymbals, snare drum, glockenspiel, strings
Programme notes by Christopher Cheong
World Premiere 8 Feb 1908, St. Petersburg (Sergei Rachmaninoff, conductor) First performed by SSO 5 Jun 1987 35
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OCT 26
7.30pm Esplanade Concert Hall
Michał Nesterowicz, conductor
BRUCH SCOTTISH FANTASY with
BAX Tintagel VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Symphony No. 5 in D major
OCT 27
4pm Victoria Concert Hall
Musicians of the SSO
SHREDDING WITH RACHEL BARTON PINE with music from
VAN HALEN, RUSH, METALLICA, PANTERA and more
OCT 29
5.30pm Steven Baxter Recital Studio Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music
NOV 1
7.30pm Esplanade Concert Hall Andrew Litton, conductor
FORUM SERIES: SCOTTISH TRADITIONS
ELGAR VIOLIN CONCERTO with
ELGAR Enigma Variations, Op. 36
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upcoming concerts
Oct 26 Oct | Esplanade Concert Hall Michal Nesterowicz conductor Rachel Barton Pine violin Singapore Symphony Orchestra
27 Oct | Victoria Concert Hall Rachel Barton Pine violin Musicians of the SSO
SCOTTISH FANTASY • RACHEL BARTON PINE BAX Tintagel BRUCH Scottish Fantasy, Op. 46 VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Symphony No. 5 in D major
VCHPRESENTS: EXCITE! SHREDDING WITH RACHEL BARTON PINE
Nov 1 Nov | Esplanade Concert Hall Andrew Litton conductor Rachel Barton Pine violin Singapore Symphony Orchestra
4 Nov | Victoria Concert Hall Evelyn Lim organ Joanna Paul organ
8 Nov | Esplanade Concert Hall Andrew Litton conductor Various soloists, Singapore Symphony Choruses and Orchestra
10 Nov | Victoria Concert Hall Long Long tenor Tengku Irfan piano
14 Nov | Victoria Concert Hall Lynnette Seah violin Gulnara Mashurova harp Musicians of the SSO
ELGAR VIOLIN CONCERTO & ENIGMA VARIATIONS ELGAR Violin Concerto in B minor, Op. 61 ELGAR Enigma Variations, Op. 36
VCHPRESENTS: ORGAN PIPES DE DEUX
FREE
CHORUS OF THE PLANETS BARBER Symphony No. 1 in One Movement BEETHOVEN Choral Fantasy, Op. 80 HOLST The Planets, Op. 32
VCHPRESENTS: CHAMBER LOVE AND LONGING French and Italian love songs
VCHPRESENTS: CHAMBER FRENCH CONNECTIONS DEBUSSY Les Chansons de Bilitis RAVEL Introduction and Allegro for Harp, Flute, Clarinet and String Quartet MASSENET Meditation from Thaïs FAURÉ Piano Quartet No. 1, Op. 15
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16 & 17 Nov | Victoria Concert Hall Joshua Tan conductor Platypus Theatre Singapore Symphony Orchestra
21 Nov | Victoria Concert Hall Dance Studio Zhang Si Jing violin Musicians of the SSO
22 & 23 Nov | Victoria Concert Hall Gabriel Bebeselea conductor Lucas Jussen piano Arthur Jussen piano Singapore Symphony Orchestra
28 & 29 Nov | Victoria Concert Hall Mario Venzago conductor Akiko Suwanai violin Singapore Symphony Orchestra
30 Nov | Esplanade Concert Hall Peter Stark conductor Ng Pei-Sian cello Singapore National Youth Orchestra
CONCERTS FOR CHILDREN EMILY SAVES THE ORCHESTRA
VCHPRESENTS: INTIMATE MOMENTS FROM WEST TO EAST (乐享时光: 从西至东) Music by Borodin, Shostakovich, Sarasate, Françaix and Piazzolla
THE JUSSEN BROTHERS PLAY MOZART MOZART Concerto No. 10 for 2 pianos, K.365 ENESCU Pastorale-Fantaisie for Small Orchestra (Asian Premiere) BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68 “Pastoral”
AKIKO SUWANAI PLAYS MOZART MENDELSSOHN Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage, Op. 27 MOZART Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major, K.216 BRAHMS Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73
SNYO IN CONCERT: ELGAR CELLO CONCERTO MALCOLM ARNOLD Four Cornish Dances, Op. 91 ELGAR Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85 PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, Op. 100
Dec 5 Dec | Esplanade Concert Hall Thomas Dausgaard conductor Haochen Zhang piano Singapore Symphony Orchestra
12 & 13 Dec | Esplanade Concert Hall Joshua Tan conductor Singapore Symphony Choruses and Orchestra
16 Dec | Victoria Concert Hall Isaac Lee organ Samuel Armstrong trombone
19 & 20 Dec | Esplanade Concert Hall Christopher Dragon conductor Singapore Symphony Orchestra
ZHANG HAOCHEN PLAYS MOZART MOZART Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K.491 BRUCKNER Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major
SSO CHRISTMAS CONCERT AT THE ESPLANADE Glittering musical treasures for the yuletide season
VCHPRESENTS: ORGAN PIPE UP! II SSO POPS THE MUSIC OF STAR WARS Familiar tunes from the Star Wars films 46
FREE
b oard of directors & C O M M I T T E e S chair Mr Goh Yew Lin b oard of directors
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
Mr Yee Chen Fah (Chair) Mr Heinrich Grafe Ms Lim Mei
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
SSO LADIES’ LEAGUE
Nominating and Executive Committee Mr Goh Yew Lin (Chair) Prof Arnoud De Meyer Mr Paul Tan Ms Yong Ying-I
HUMAN RESOURCES Committee Ms Yong Ying-I (Chair) Prof Arnoud De Meyer Mr Yee Chen Fah Dr Kelly Tang Endowment Fund Committee Mr Goh Yew Lin (Chair) Mr David Goh Mr Sanjiv Misra Audit Committee
Ms Liew Wei Li (Chair) Mr Ang Chek Meng Ms Vivien Goh Dr Kee Kirk Chin Mrs Valarie Wilson
S S O M usicians ’ C ommittee Mr Jon Paul Dante Mr Jamie Hersch Mr Ng Pei-Sian Mr Mark Suter Mr Christoph Wichert Ms Elaine Yeo Mr Yeo Teow Meng
Mrs Odile Benjamin (Chair) Mrs Kwan Lui (Deputy Chair) Mrs Celeste Basapa Mrs Maisy Beh Mrs Kim Camacho Mrs Rosy Ho Ms Judy Hunt Prof Annie Koh Dr Julie Lo Mrs Clarinda TjiaDharmadi-Martin Ms Paige Parker Ms Kris Tan Ms Manju Vangal Mrs Grace Yeh
SINGAPORE SYMPHONY GROUP MANAGEMENT
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Mr Chng Hak-Peng
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
Customer Experience Mr Randy Teo Ms Dacia Cheang Ms Nur Shafiqah bte Othman
Choral Programmes Ms Regina Lee Ms Whitney Tan
DEVELOPMENT & PARTNERSHIPS
Programmes (VCH) Ms Erin Tan Ms Lynnette Chng
Corporate Communications Ms Leong Wenshan Ms Haslina Hassan
ORCHESTRA MANAGEMENT
Development Ms Chelsea Zhao Ms Nikki Chuang
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
Ms Peggy Kek (Head)
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
CHAMBER
ORGAN
LOVE AND LONGING 10 NOV, 4PM
PIPES DE DEUX 4 NOV, 12.30PM Evelyn Lim, organ Joanna Paul, organ
Long Long, tenor Tengku Irfan, piano
SUPPORTED BY
CHAMBER
In association with the 2019 Voilah! Festival
FRENCH CONNECTIONS 14 NOV, 7.30PM
INTIMATE MOMENTS
Lynnette Seah, violin Gulnara Mashurova, harp Musicians of the SSO
FROM WEST TO EAST 21 NOV, 7.30PM Zhang Si Jing, violin Musicians of the SSO
sso.org.sg/VCHpresents SUPPORTED BY
PATRON SPONSOR
OFFICIAL HOTEL
OFFICIAL RADIO STATION
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