Christian Blackshaw Plays Beethoven

LAN SHUI Music Director

subscription concert

CHRISTIAN BLACKSHAW PLAYS BEETHOVEN 11 May 2018 Esplanade Concert Hall Performing Home of the SSO

Claus Peter Flor, conductor Christian Blackshaw, piano

11 May 2018, Fri

CHRISTIAN BLACKSHAW PLAYS BEETHOVEN Singapore Symphony Orchestra Claus Peter Flor, conductor LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58 34’00

1. Allegro moderato 2. Andante con moto 3. Rondo: Vivace

Christian Blackshaw, piano Intermission 20’00

Christian Blackshaw will sign autographs in the stalls foyer.

ANTON BRUCKNER Symphony No. 9 in D minor 63’00

(Nowak Edition, 1951)

1. Feierlich, misterioso 2. Scherzo: Bewegt, lebhaft; Trio: Schnell 3. Adagio: Langsam, feierlich

Concert duration: 2 hrs 10 mins Go green. Digital programme booklets are available on www.sso.org.sg.

Scan the QR code in the foyer to view a copy.

S ing a p or e S y mp hon y Or c he s t r a ‘A fine display of orchestral bravado for the SSO and Shui’ The Guardian

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 alltime 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.

Since Lan Shui assumed the position of Music Director in 1997, the SSO has performed in Europe, Asia and the United States. In May 2016 the SSO was invited to perform at the Dresden Music Festival and 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 in London received critical acclaim in the major UK newspapers The Guardian and Telegraph. The SSO has also performed in China on multiple occasions.

Notable SSO releases under BIS include a Rachmaninov series, a “Seascapes” album, two Debussy discs “La Mer” and “Jeux”, 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, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Diana Damrau, Lang Lang, Yo-Yo Ma, Janine Jansen, Leonidas Kavakos and Gil Shaham.

c l a u s p e t e r f lor conductor

Respected worldwide as a conductor with instinctive and incisive musicianship, Claus Peter Flor maintains a prestigious international career. He is renowned for his command and interpretation of AustroGermanic repertoire, and has a great affinity with the Czech repertoire of Dvorák and Suk, having recorded many of their works during his tenure as Chief Conductor of the Malaysian Philharmonic.

Throughout his career, he has held positions with a great number of distinguished orchestras, namely the Philharmonia Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Zürich Tonhalle Orchestra and the Malaysian Philharmonic. Prior to his position as Music Director of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (2008 – 2014), Flor was the Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi (2003 –2008) at the personal invitation of their Music Director Riccardo Chailly, with a remit to develop the orchestra’s work in the central European repertoire. Forthcoming highlights of the 17/18 season include return visits to Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, RAI Torino, Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana, South Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and the Het Gelders Orkest.

As an opera conductor, Flor continues his relationship with Theatre du Capitole Toulouse. Last season he conducted a revival of Gounod’s Faust and Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde. Flor has a longstanding partnership with the Theatre du Capitole, and previous titles included Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, and Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel. He will return in the seasons ahead with productions of Meyerbeer’s Le Prophète, d’Albert’s Tiefland and Wagner’s Die Walküre.

Claus Peter Flor has an extensive and diverse discography, including an acclaimed series of Mendelssohn recordings with the Bamberg Symphony, which have recently been re-issued by Sony/BMG.

c hr is t i a n b l ac k sh aw piano

A deeply passionate and sensitive performer, Christian Blackshaw is celebrated for the incomparable musicianship of his performances. His playing combines tremendous emotional depth with great understanding and, in the words of one London critic, “sheer musicality and humanity”.

Following studies with Gordon Green at the Royal College Manchester and Royal Academy, London, he was the first British pianist to study at the Leningrad Conservatoire with Moisei Halfin. He later worked closely with Sir Clifford Curzon in London.

Christian Blackshaw has performed with many international leading orchestras including BBC Symphony, London Philharmonic, Hallé, City of Birmingham Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Royal Scottish National, St Petersburg Philharmonic, Mariinsky Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic and RAI Torino. Conductors with whom he has collaborated include Sir Simon Rattle, Valery Gergiev, Gianandrea Noseda, Yuri Temirkanov and Sir Neville Marriner.

Recent notable appearances include South Bank International Piano Series, Montreal, Aldeburgh Festival, Bamberg Symphony and Mariinsky Orchestra with Valery Gergiev. In 2016 he completed his sold-out debut recital tour in China, including memorable appearances at the National Centre for the Performing Arts, Beijing and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra Hall, where he then returned to perform the complete Mozart sonata cycle in 2017 followed by Tokyo’s Musashino Hall. He gave his Austrian debut recital at the Stiftskonzerte Festival outside Linz, and subsequently returned to the White Nights Festival and Kilkenny International Festival.

His hugely acclaimed Wigmore Hall complete Mozart sonata series concluded in early 2013 and subsequently Wigmore Hall Live have issued all four volumes. Critics have been unanimous in their praise, describing these “landmark” recordings as “captivating”, “magical” and “masterful”. Volume 4 was named as one of the Best Classical Recordings of 2015 in The New York Times.

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SSO MU S ICIAN S Lan Shui Music Director joshua tan Associate Conductor jason lai Associate Conductor andrew litton Principal Guest Conductor Choo Hoey Conductor Emeritus Eudenice Palaruan Choral Director

FIRST VIOLIN Igor Yuzefovich° Concertmaster, The GK Goh Chair 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 Gu Wen Li Jin Li Cindy Lee Sui Jing Jing Karen Tan William Tan Wei Zhe SECOND VIOLIN Li Qing^ Principal Michael Loh Associate Principal Hai-Won Kwok Fixed Chair Kong Xian Long^

Nikolai Koval* Lee Shi Mei^ Ma Qianyi# Chikako Sasaki* Margit Saur Shao Tao Tao Ikuko Takahashi^ Lillian Wang Wu Man Yun* Xu Jue Yi* Ye Lin* Yeo Teow Meng Yin Shu Zhan* Zhang Si Jing* VIOLA Zhang Manchin Principal Guan Qi Associate Principal Gu Bing Jie* Fixed Chair Marietta Ku Luo Biao Julia Park Shui Bing Tan Wee-Hsin Janice Tsai Wang Dandan Yang Shi Li Yeo Jan Wea^ CELLO Ng Pei-Sian Principal Yu Jing Associate Principal Guo Hao Fixed Chair Chan Wei Shing Lin Juan^ Song Woon Teng Wang Yan Wang Zihao* Wu Dai Dai Zhao Yu Er DOUBLE BASS Guennadi Mouzyka Principal Yang Zheng Yi Associate Principal Karen Yeo Fixed Chair Olga Alexandrova Andreas Dehner^ Ma Li Ming^

Jacek Mirucki Wang Xu FLUTE Jin Ta Principal Evgueni Brokmiller Associate Principal Roberto Alvarez Miao Shanshan PICCOLO Roberto Alvarez Assistant Principal OBOE Rachel Walker Principal Pan Yun Associate Principal Carolyn Hollier Elaine Yeo COR ANGLAIS Elaine Yeo Associate Principal CLARINET Ma Yue Principal Li Xin Associate Principal Liu Yoko Tang Xiao Ping

HORN Han Chang Chou Principal Gao Jian Associate Principal Jamie Hersch Associate Principal Marc-Antoine Robillard Associate Principal Edward Deskur^ Etienne Godey^ Hoang Van Hoc^ Kartik Alan Jairamin TRUMPET Jon Paul Dante Principal David Smith Associate Principal Lau Wen Rong Sergey Tyuteykin TROMBONE Allen Meek Principal Damian Patti Associate Principal Samuel Armstrong BASS TROMBONE Wang Wei Assistant Principal TUBA Hidehiro Fujita Principal

BASS CLARINET

TIMPANI

Tang Xiao Ping Assistant Principal

Christian Schiøler Principal Jonathan Fox Associate Principal

BASSOON Liu Chang Associate Principal Christoph Wichert Zhao Ying Xue CONTRA BASSOON Zhao Ying Xue Assistant Principal

PERCUSSION Jonathan Fox Principal Mark Suter Associate Principal Lim Meng Keh Zhu Zheng Yi HARP Gulnara Mashurova Principal

* With deep appreciation to the Rin Collection for their generous loan of string instruments. ° Igor Yuzefovich plays an instrument generously loaned by Mr & Mrs G K Goh Member of the Shanghai Academy Orchestra ^ Musician on temporary contract Musicians listed alphabetically by family name rotate their seats on a per programme basis.

SSO Classics in the Park

Concert

13 MAY 2018 SUN, 6PM SHAW FOUNDATION SYMPHONY STAGE SINGAPORE BOTANIC GARDENS Let us help you say “I love you” to the most important woman in your life with our Mother’s Day Concert!

The SSO and Associate Conductor Joshua Tan will serenade you with melodic pieces such as Tchaikovsky’s Polonaise and Gardel’s Por una Cabeza, and guest vocalist Taufik Batisah joins us for Me & Mrs. Jones and P. Ramlee’s Ibu. Head down to the Singapore Botanic Gardens with your picnic baskets for a beautiful evening of love and music!

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mu s ic i a n c h a ir s

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In Collaboration with Esplanade

LEONARD BERNSTEIN’S 2 JUN 2018, SAT, 7.30PM ESPLANADE CONCERT HALL PERFORMED BY

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Bernstein’s most ambitious composition, Mass is a music-theatrical tussle between Broadway singing and church choruses, rock and roll and brassy symphonic dances. With a cast of 200 performers, don’t miss this rare performance of Bernstein’s monumental pageant!

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770 -18 27 ) Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58

34’00

It is the nature of many concertgoers today to test the waters of new music hesitantly and carefully. Imagine, then, the circumstances under which Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto was given its first public performance – as one of seven(!) works all heard by the Viennese for the first time, all by the same composer, and four of them of major dimensions. This four-hour marathon concert took place on 22 December 1808 in Vienna’s Theater an der Wien. It was a freezing cold evening, which meant conditions inside the unheated hall were uncomfortable, to say the least. In addition, Beethoven’s music was generally considered to be advanced and difficult both to play and to understand. It was truly a daunting prospect for most concertgoers that night.

Considering the cluttered context in which the Fourth Concerto was first heard, it is perhaps not so surprising that it failed to leave a vivid impression.

It is music of a lyrical, intimate bent and with great subtlety of expression, especially in comparison with many of Beethoven’s previous works and to other works on that marathon concert of premieres. In fact, it was virtually forgotten until Mendelssohn revived it in 1836, nine years after the composer’s death.

There are many bold, innovative and radical touches to this concerto.

The most famous and most obvious of these is the unprecedented solo introduction. The orchestra responds in a harmonically remote key (another surprise), and goes on to present and develop other themes. The soloist reenters in a quasi-cadenza passage, and then joins the orchestra in a closelywoven tapestry of themes, motifs and rhythmic patterns.

The slow movement is, if anything, even more compelling and innovative than the first. In just a little over five minutes (one of the shortest slow movements of any well-known concerto) there unfolds one of the most striking musical dialogues ever written. Initially we hear two totally different musical expressions: the orchestra (strings only) in unison octaves – imperious, assertive, angry, loud, angular; and the solo piano fully harmonised – meek, quiet, legato. Over the span of the movement the

orchestra by stages relents and assumes more and more the character of the soloist. Tamed, seduced, won over, taught, assuaged and conquered are some of the terms used to give dramatic or literary interpretation to this remarkable musical phenomenon.

The rondo finale steals in quietly, without pause, bringing much-needed wit, charm and lightness after the tense, dark drama of the slow movement.

Trumpets and timpani are heard for the first time in the work. Like the first movement, it is full of interesting touches, including a rhythmic motto and a sonorous solo passage for the divided viola section. A brilliantly spirited coda brings the concerto to its conclusion.

ANTON BRUCKNER (1824 -18 96) Symphony No. 9 in D minor (Nowak Edition, 1951)

63’00

Bruckner began drafting sketches for his Ninth Symphony in 1887, even before final revisions had been made to the Eighth. He then laid the Ninth aside and did not return to it for some time, working instead on further revisions to earlier symphonies. This predilection for revisions amounted almost to an obsession with Bruckner, and it is a sobering thought that had he not spent so much time in this pursuit, he might well have been able to complete the Ninth. Most of his last symphony was written in 1893 and 1894, amid rapidly deteriorating health. Bruckner clung tenaciously to the belief that God would stand by him and allow the completion of just one more symphony.

The score is dedicated “to my dear God,” the finale is sprinkled liberally with entreaties written to the divine in the margins, and the physician who attended to Bruckner at this time often found him on his knees deep in prayer. The fear, despair, even outright terror Bruckner experienced during these last years inform many pages of the Ninth. He worked with heroic determination for nearly the last two years of his life on just the finale alone, right up to the day he died.

Totally exhausted physically, mentally and spiritually, he succumbed on the afternoon of 11 October 1896 after returning from a walk in Vienna’s Belvedere Park. The funeral was held in the Karlskirche, which is situated near the Grosse Musikvereinsaal, the hall where many of Bruckner’s symphonies had been performed. The first performance of the Ninth Symphony – in a bowdlerized form – had to wait for more than six years after Bruckner’s death (February, 1903), and for many more years after that (1932) in its original form.

Ever since Beethoven had written a Ninth Symphony, there had been an aura and mystery surrounding this chronological appellation. No other major composer of the 19th century before Bruckner dared to write a “Ninth Symphony” for fear either of comparison with his predecessor or of tempting fate. Schubert’s chronology was in disarray, and he did not affix a “No. 9” to his final C-major symphony; Dvorák’s New World Symphony was still a few years in the future when Bruckner began his Ninth; Louis Spohr, though a major composer in his time (1784-1859) is largely forgotten today. But, Bruckner knowingly and willingly called this symphony his Ninth. “It will be

my last symphony”, he proclaimed in 1892. As for the key of D minor, the same as Beethoven’s Ninth, Bruckner claimed this was pure happenstance.

“Come on, I’m not about to compete with Beethoven”, he wrote to his biographer August Göllerich. “I can’t help it that the main theme came to me in D minor; it just happens to be my favourite key.”

The Ninth Symphony opens in an aura of hushed mystery. Eight horns in unison present a shadowy motif, separated into short fragments “emerging gradually as from an inchoate void”, as critic Paul Horsley puts it. A sense of vast space, a world beyond time, is immediately established (“gothic” is how some listeners perceive it), signaling that this movement is destined to be a long one (at 25 minutes, it is the longest opening movement of any Bruckner symphony, and its only rivals are some of the Adagio movements). Such is the great span, richness and structural complexity of this colossal movement that one cannot properly speak of “first theme,” “second theme,” etc., but rather of whole theme groups. The opening horn motif is in fact but the first of eight contrasting elements that constitute the first group alone. The beginning of the second group is easily identified by the flowing, yearning melody given to the violins in A major. The tonal center returns to grim D minor for the third group. The movement ends with a titanic struggle between two monolithic harmonic blocks: D minor (most of the orchestra) and implied E-flat major (“implied” since the third of the chord is absent), which screams forth from the piercing trumpets and high woodwinds. The rending dissonance that results creates an almost unbearable level of harmonic tension.

Only once before had Bruckner set his Scherzo movement before the Adagio (in the immediately preceding Eighth). This Scherzo alternates between moods of nightmarish fantasy and the macabre on the one hand, and frivolity and delicacy on the other. The latter aspect is particularly in evidence throughout the central Trio section, which bears comparison with the world of Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This episode is also unusual in that it scurries along at twice the speed of the Scherzo. (Normally the contrasting Trio is slower and more relaxed in Bruckner.)

The Adagio contains some of the most anguished and tortuous music Bruckner ever wrote, as well as some of the most resigned and serene.

Lofty grandeur, monumental blocks of sound, seismic eruptions, infinitely consoling melodies, fanfares, titanic harmonic clashes and apocalyptic visions take us on a journey across an immense musical cosmos. By the end, Bruckner has found peace, the music fading radiantly into the void.

Various attempts have been made to append a fourth movement to this symphony, based on the composer’s sketches (the curious may investigate several different versions on record). Bruckner himself, realizing that he was probably not going to have time to finish the work, even proposed using his Te Deum as a finale, an impractical idea as it requires a chorus, and an illogical one in harmonic terms with its C-major conclusion to a D-minor symphony. To most listeners, the ending as it stands marks a closure as emotionally fulfilling and structurally satisfying as any traditional “finale.”

Musicologist Michael Steinberg articulates the way many concertgoers feel in these words: “I believe that unconsciously [Bruckner] had become reconciled to the idea that the Ninth would end with its Adagio, whose last pages he therefore made as ‘final’ as he could, and more final than he would have if there had been a true finale to follow. Indeed, given Bruckner’s difficulties with finales, given also how beautiful the close of his Adagio is, I would go so far as to say thank God he was not able to finish the fourth movement.”

Programme notes by Robert Markow

RECOMMENDED LISTENING 1) Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 3 & 4 Mitsuko Uchida, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra & Kurt Sanderling (Philips, 1996)

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