SINGAPORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Founded in 1979, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is Singapore’s flagship orchestra. We play a hundred concerts a year showcasing a wide range of music: from Baroque to modern, to cutting-edge world premieres by contemporary composers Singaporean and international. The SSO has performed to acclaim in Europe, Asia and the USA, including at the Dresden Music Festival, the Berlin Philharmonie and the BBC Proms in London. Some of the great artistes we have collaborated with include renowned conductors Vladimir Ashkenazy and Lorin Maazel, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, pianist Martha Argerich, soprano Diana Damrau, and violinists Janine Jansen and Gil Shaham. The SSO’s performing home is the 1,800-seat Esplanade Concert Hall. For a more intimate experience, we return to the place of our beginnings, the 673-seat Victoria Concert Hall – the Home of the SSO. The VCH is host to our popular Children’s, Family and Christmas concerts, the SSO Chamber Series and our biannual free Lunchtime Concerts. In addition, we travel to various outreach locations in Singapore for our community and outdoor performances. Through the beauty of classical music, we aim to touch the hearts and lives of everyone, regardless of age, culture or background.
DARRELL ANG conductor Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of The Sichuan Orchestra of China (Sichuan Symphony), Grammynominated Darrell Ang last year opened the London Philharmonic’s season at Eastbourne, conducted Paris’s Orchestre de Lamoureux at the Théâtre du Champs-Elysées and made his debut with the Japan Philharmonic. In addition, he conducted Beijing’s National Centre for the Performing Arts Orchestra and released several recordings on the Naxos label to rave reviews. Recent appearances include with The Haydn Orchestra of Bolzano and Trento, Moscow State Symphony Orchestra, Mariinsky Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra, China National Symphony Orchestra and the Prague Chamber Orchestra. One of Asia’s most sought-after conductors, Ang’s growing operatic profile includes performances of Don Giovanni and Rigoletto at the Mariinsky Theatre, Carmen at Estonian National Opera, Mozart operas in Bordeaux and Toulon and Wagner in Singapore. Born in Singapore, Ang studied composition with Leong Yoon-Pin before studying in St. Petersburg with Leonid Korchmar, and Yale with Shinik Hahm. He became the Young Associate Conductor of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (2008–2013) under the guidance of Music Director Lan Shui and also served as Music Director of the Singapore National Youth Orchestra. He took all three top awards at the 50th Besançon International Young Conductors’ Competition in 2007, leading to the Music Directorship of the Orchestre Symphonique de Bretagne (2012–2015). With support from the Allianz Cultural Foundation, he took on residencies with the London Philharmonic and Philharmonia Orchestra, under the tutelage of Lorin Maazel and Esa-Pekka Salonen.
PROGRAMME NOTES Overture & Dances from Le bourgeois Gentilhomme By Jean-Baptise Lully (1632 - 1687) Widely regarded as one of the great works of the 17th century, Le bourgeois Gentilhomme actually came about because of an insult. In 1669, an envoy from the Ottoman Empire was sent to repair relations with Louis XIV of France: the French court threw a lavish reception for the dignitary who was later heard to remark that the sultan’s horse was more richly adorned than the French King. In response, the King asked the playwright and satirist Molière to work with his court composer, Jean-Baptiste Lully, on a comedy-ballet. Molière’s play tells the story of one Monsieur Jourdain – a ‘bourgeois’ – who aspires to become a member of the aristocracy. Lully provided the music for the work, which included an Overture and a series of dances, ranging from a lively Galliard to a stately Minuet. The composer himself even took part in the first performance, playing the part of a Turkish official.
Two movements from Horn Concerto No.2 in E-flat major, K. 417 By Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) II Andante III Rondo: Allegro Feat. Han Chang Chou, Principal Horn of the SSO Mozart’s four horn concertos have become some of his best-loved pieces – they are exuberant, joyful works that stretch soloist and instrument to their limits. He wrote the pieces for his lifelong friend, virtuoso horn player Joseph Leutgeb, and the original manuscripts are dotted with cheeky notes from the composer to his friend, such as ‘Take fifteen snacks’ or ‘What’ – finished already?’. This concerto, written in 1783, is actually the first of the horn concertos the composer wrote (despite the numbering which has come down to us). It’s in three movements and we’ll hear the second and third today, the Andante and the Rondo: Allegro. The Andante, or slow movement, celebrates the lyrical beauty of the French horn and has a simple three-part structure built around a contrasting middle section. Meanwhile the finale bubbles with joy thanks to its galloping rhythm, recalling the sound of a hunting horn. All in all, a wonderful testament to a musical friendship.
Allegro con grazia (2nd movement) from Symphony No. 6 “Pathétique” By Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893)
Juliet and Minuet from Romeo & Juliet By Sergei Prokofiev (1891 - 1953)
Tchaikovsky is without doubt the most popular Russian composer of all time, responsible for such world-famous classics as the ballet music for The Nutcracker and Swan Lake. His six symphonies are also staples of the concert hall, each one full of memorable melodies and musical might. The most popular is the Sixth, nicknamed the Pathétique Symphony. It was written at the very end of his life and encapsulates the length and breadth of Tchaikovsky’s musical feelings, from optimistic passion to lyrical elegance, but also anguish and despair.
Prokofiev is one of the foremost Russian composers from the first half of the 20th century, known for his distinct mix of lyrical melody with sharp, stinging harmonies. His Romeo & Juliet is a brilliant adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic tale for Russian ballet. Prokofiev’s initial version of the ballet went totally against the grain by having a happy ending, and this caused its fair share of consternation among many officials and artists alike, until things were finally set “right” in its first full production in 1940.
The second movement of the Sixth Symphony is a graceful dance, gentle of soul and wistful in feeling. Tchaikovsky died just nine days after the Symphony’s first performance in late October, 1893.
Programme Notes by Elizabeth & Leon
We’ll perform two pieces from the complete ballet, a playful depiction of the young and innocent Juliet, and a bombastic Minuet depicting “The Arrival of the Guests” at the Capulet ball - the occasion where Romeo will soon set eyes for the first time on Juliet.
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