SSO Pops Concert: Jazz it up with Gershwin!

THE SSCC EXPERIENCE 3 & 4 September 2018 9am - 6pm For kids with a passion for singing! Join us for an unforgettable day of choral music-making.

Help your child discover his or her own voice with workshops conducted by our Singapore Symphony Children’s Choir (SSCC) conductors. Participants will get a chance to experience a day in the life of an SSCC singer and even have the opportunity to sing on stage at the iconic Victoria Concert Hall!

The SSCC Experience is a programme for treble voices. If you’ve got a transitioning voice and are still keen to join us, we’d be glad to have you! *Please note that the repertoire may include some liturgical works.

For treble voices, ages 8 (born 2010) to 15 Fee: $88 per participant Registration closing date: 25 August 2018

SSChildrensChoir

SSO.ORG.SG/SSCCEXPERIENCE

17 Aug 2018, Fri

SSO POPS: JAZZ IT UP WITH GERSHWIN! Singapore Symphony Orchestra Andrew Litton, conductor/piano DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH

Suite for Jazz Orchestra No. 1 8’00

DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH

Suite for Variety Orchestra 20’00

Intermission 20’00

GEORGE GERSHWIN (orch. HERSHY KAY)

Excerpts from The Gershwin Songbook 45’00

Concert duration: 1 hr 50 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

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.

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.

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.

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, Martha Argerich, Lang Lang, Yo-Yo Ma, Janine Jansen, Leonidas Kavakos and Gil Shaham.

“A fine display of orchestral bravado for the SSO and Shui” The Guardian

ANDREW LITTON conductor/piano Named Principal Guest Conductor of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra in 2017, Andrew Litton is also Music Director of the New York City Ballet, where he recently extended his contract through 2022.

Litton was Principal Conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony from 19881994, producing 14 recordings, including the Grammy-winning Belshazzar’s Feast.

As Music Director of the Dallas Symphony from 1994-2006, he hired over one third of the players, led the orchestra on three major European tours, appeared four times at Carnegie Hall, created a children’s television series broadcast nationally and used in school curricula, produced 28 recordings, and helped raise the orchestra’s endowment from $19 million to $100 million. He regularly guest conducts leading orchestras and opera companies around the globe and adds to his discography of over 130 recordings, which have garnered America’s Grammy Award, France’s Diapason d’Or and other honours.

This season, besides conducting over 30 ballets at the New York City Ballet, Litton returns to the Singapore Symphony, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra,

Bergen Philharmonic, Ulster Orchestra, National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, the Orquesta Sinfonica de Galicia, and the Utah Symphony among others. He will also make his debut with the Norwegian Opera and Ballet.

Litton’s work with New York City Ballet has earned praise from critics, dancers, and audiences. An accomplished pianist, he often performs as a piano soloist, conducting from the keyboard, most recently Beethoven’s Triple Concerto in Singapore. An acknowledged expert on Gershwin, Litton has performed and recorded Gershwin widely as both pianist and conductor and serves as Advisor to the University of Michigan Gershwin Archives.

Born in New York City, Litton has Bachelor’s and Masters degrees from the Juilliard School in piano and conducting.

His many honours include Norway’s Order of Merit, Yale’s Sanford Medal, the Elgar Society Medal, and an honorary Doctorate from the University of Bournemouth.

MALAYSIAN PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA From Across The Causeway

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1 Sep 2018 7:30PM

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Eiji Oue, conductor Gonzalo Esteban, clarinet VIVIAN CHUA Mercu Kegemilangan COPLAND Clarinet Concerto BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67

Presented By

@vchhomeofthesso

SSO.ORG.SG

23&September 3 4 September 2018 2018 9am - 6pm 10am onwards The SSCC offers training and performance opportunities to children by developing their vocal technique, music literacy and musicianship, with an aim to help fledgling singers achieve their fullest musical potential. Singing with the SSCC requires discipline and teamwork, which in turn fosters confidence, self-esteem, and helps develop important life skills. Besides our own concerts, the SSCC offers the extraordinary experience of performing monumental choral classics with the combined forces of the Singapore Symphony choruses and orchestra. *Please note that the SSCC repertoire may include some liturgical works.

For children ages 8 (born 2010) to 15 Fee: $25 per participant Registration closing date: 15 September 2018 (Audition time slots will be pre-allocated)

SSChildrensChoir

SSO.ORG.SG/SSCCAUDITIONS

Supporting the Local Arts and Cultural Scene Partner of SSO since 1978 NSL is a long-standing sponsor for Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO). We have been instrumental in helping the Orchestra reach out to the community-at-large as SSO brings music to the world.

A leading industrial group in the Asia Pacific with businesses in Precast & Prefabricated Bathroom Unit and Environmental Services, NSL believes that while achieving business goals is important, its actions need to also create a positive impact on the community, environment and all stakeholders.

NSL LTD 77 Robinson Road #27-00 Robinson 77 Singapore 068896 Tel: 6536 1000 I Fax: 6536 1008 I www.nsl.com.sg

30.8.2018 星期四 Thursday 7.30pm 滨海艺术中心音乐厅 Esplanade Concert Hall

Photo Credit: Phillip Knott

音乐总监 / 指挥：葉聰 Music Director / Conductor: Tsung Yeh

超级巨星，炫弦中西！格莱美奖的小提琴家 约夏·贝尔二度返新携手葉聰与新加坡华乐 团呈献首首佳作。别错过经典小提琴协奏曲 《梁山伯与祝英台》、名作《泰伊斯冥想曲》、 《流浪者之歌》、《中国花鼓》。当代顶尖作 曲家谭盾、郭文景的《黄土地》与《滇西土风 三首》也将由新加坡华乐团演奏。

GRAMMY® Award winning violinist Joshua Bell returns to perform with SCO! Watch him perform much-loved classic violin concerto Butterfly Lovers and other masterpieces including Thaïs: Méditation, Zigeunerweisen and Tambourin Chinois. SCO will perform works by renowned Chinese composers Tan Dun and Guo Wen Jing, Yellow Earth and Dianxi Folk Tunes.

Joshua Bell appears by arrangement with Park Avenue Artists and Octagon. Mr Bell records exclusively for Sony Classical.

票价 (未加SISTIC收费) Ticket Prices (before SISTIC fee)

$308, $258, $208, $158, *优惠价 Concession

Out $68/$30* Sold

ets Tick ing l l Se t!

Fas

www.sco.com.sg

SSO MU SICIAN S Lan Shui Music Director joshua tan Associate Conductor andrew litton Principal Guest Conductor Choo Hoey Conductor Emeritus Eudenice Palaruan Choral Director WONG LAI FOON Choirmaster FIRST VIOLIN Igor Yuzefovich° Concertmaster, The GK Goh Chair Yumi Hwang-Williams^ Concertmaster 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 Yew Shan^ SECOND VIOLIN Zhou Qi^ Principal Michael Loh Associate Principal Hai-Won Kwok Fixed Chair Nikolai Koval* Lee Shi Mei^ Chikako Sasaki*

Margit Saur Shao Tao Tao 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 CELLO Ng Pei-Sian Principal Yu Jing Associate Principal Guo Hao Fixed Chair Chan Wei Shing 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 Julian Li^ 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

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

COR ANGLAIS Elaine Yeo Associate Principal

TROMBONE Allen Meek Principal Damian Patti Associate Principal Samuel Armstrong

CLARINET Ma Yue Principal Li Xin Associate Principal Liu Yoko Tang Xiao Ping BASS CLARINET Tang Xiao Ping Assistant Principal SOPRANO SAXOPHONE Lin Chien-Kwan^ ALTO SAXOPHONE Daniel Gelok^ Lin Chien-Kwan^ TENOR SAXOPHONE Anne Kunkle^ BASSOON Wang Xiaoke Principal Liu Chang Associate Principal Christoph Wichert Zhao Ying Xue CONTRA BASSOON Zhao Ying Xue Assistant Principal HORN Han Chang Chou Principal Gao Jian Associate Principal Jamie Hersch Associate Principal Marc-Antoine Robillard Associate Principal Kartik Alan Jairamin^

BASS TROMBONE Wang Wei Assistant Principal TUBA Hidehiro Fujita Principal TIMPANI Christian Schiøler Principal Jonathan Fox Associate Principal PERCUSSION Jonathan Fox Principal Mark Suter Associate Principal Mark De Souza^ Lim Meng Keh Zhu Zheng Yi HARP Gulnara Mashurova Principal PIANO Shane Thio^ Principal Nicholas Loh^ CELESTA Shane Thio^ HAWAIIAN GUITAR/BANJO/GUITAR Stephen Lalor^ ACCORDION Syafiqah ‘Adha Sallehin^

*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 ~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 Organisation and Lee Foundation. ^Musician on temporary contract Musicians listed alphabetically by family name rotate their seats on a per programme basis.

Thank you for attending Jazz It Up With Gershwin!

BRAHMS PIANO CONCERTO 2 FAMILIAR FAVOURITES: BEETHOVEN VIOLIN CONCERTO TITANS OF VIENNA 24 Aug 2018

For his second concert this season as our Principal Guest Conductor, Andrew Litton leads the SSO alongside acclaimed violinist August Hadelich in his Singapore debut.

Andrew Litton, conductor Augustin Hadelich, violin

SPELLBINDING ENCHANTMENT 31 Aug 2018 Next in our line of guest pianists is the young and rising Martin Helmchen, who played the Brahms No.1 with us in 2017.

Hans Graf, conductor Martin Helmchen, piano

PROJECT: WORLD VCH EXCITE! 30 Sep 2018

For more percussion- and jazz-inspired music, join our very own Mark Suter, SSO percussionist and member of the famed Silkroad musical collaborative.

Mark Suter, percussion Nate Shaw, jazz piano/composer Tony Makarome, bass Zhu Zheng Yi, percussion Eugene Toh, percussion Wang Shan, percussion

HAPPY DAYS FAVOURITE TV THEMES SSO POPS 7 Nov 2018

Change channels at our next SSO Pops concert! Music from the last 40 years of TV, from Battlestar Galactica to The Love Boat to Game of Thrones.

Gerard Salonga, conductor

T he G K G oh C h a ir The SSO Concertmaster Chair is named for Mr GK Goh. We would like to thank the Family and Friends of Mr Goh Geok Khim for their donations. We are especially grateful to Mr and Mrs Goh Yew Lin for their most generous donation.

Igor Yuzefovich, Concertmaster The GK Goh Chair

L ARGE GIF T S The SSO recognises large gifts in a variety of ways, including the naming of a position in the Orchestra. Endowing a Musician Chair associates your name with an orchestral position that has a special significance to you.

For more information about making a gift to the SSO, please write to peggykek@sso.org.sg

S UPPORT THE S S O Join our prestigious list of corporate patrons and sponsors Contribute to the national orchestra and form a special relationship with one of Singapore’s most celebrated arts organisations. By committing to growing the arts through the SSO, you can increase your organisation’s visibility and reach an influential and growing audience.

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.

Major Corporate Patrons Temasek Foundation Nurtures CLG Ltd Far East Organization Santa Lucia Asset Management Pte Ltd Interchem Pte Ltd John Swire & Sons (S E Asia) Pte Ltd Aquilus Pte Ltd Lee Foundation, Singapore G K Goh Holdings Ltd Kingsmen Exhibit Pte Ltd NSL Ltd Major Corporate Sponsors Conrad Centennial Singapore Singapore Airlines Ltd Singapore Press Holdings Ltd

Our corporate patrons also receive attractive tax benefits. For more information on donations and sponsorships, please write to director_development@sso.org.sg

A S ta nding Ovat ion to o ur Donor s a nd Sp on s or s PATRON SPONSOR

Tote Board Group (Tote Board, Singapore Pools & Singapore Turf Club) $250,000 and above

Temasek Foundation Nurtures CLG Limited Mr & Mrs Goh Yew Lin Christopher Ho & Rosy Ho $100,000 and above

Far East Organization Santa Lucia Asset Management Pte Ltd Aquilus Pte Ltd Anonymous $50,000 and above

John Swire & Sons (S.E. Asia) Pte Ltd Singapore Press Holdings Ltd Kingsmen Exhibits Pte Ltd Lee Foundation Singapore G K Goh Holdings Limited NSL Ltd Tan Chin Tuan Foundation Anonymous (2)

$20,000 and above Holywell Foundation Limited Singapore Institute of Management Keppel Care Foundation Irene Tedja Dr Julie Lo Mr & Mrs Goh Geok Khim Yong Ying-I Grace Yeh & Family Joseph Grimberg Kris Foundation Clarinda Tjia-Dharmadi-Martin & Christopher Martin

Ho Ching Lee Theng Kiat Maisy Koh & Dr Beh Swan Gin Paige Parker & Jim Rogers Petrochemical Corporation of Singapore Pte Ltd Saga Tree Capital Advisors Pte Ltd Stephen Riady Group of Foundations United Overseas Bank Ltd Geoffrey Wong & Ai Ai Wong Dr Thomas & Mrs Mary Zuellig Anonymous

$10,000 and above Allen & Gledhill LLP Mr & Mrs Tan Vern Han Credit Suisse AG, Singapore ABRSM Su Pin & Mervin Beng At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy Harpreet K. Bedi & Satinder S. Garcha Odile & Douglas Benjamin BinjaiTree Boardroom Limited CellResearch Corporation Pte Ltd Prof Chan Heng Chee Chan Wing Cheng Chip Eng Seng Corporation Limited Choo Chiau Beng DBS Bank Ltd Frasers Property Andress Goh Lai Yan Amy & Kevin Gould Santosa Handojo Hi-P International Limited Hong Leong Foundation

Judy Hunt Interchem Pte Ltd Lee Ming San LGT Bank (Singapore) Ltd Liew Wei Li Liu Chee Ming Low Check Kian Devika & Sanjiv Misra Kai S. Nargolwara Nomura Asset Management Singapore Ltd One North Capital Pte Ltd OSIM International Limited Prima Limited Raffles Medical Group Mr Sam Goi, Tee Yih Jia Group SEA Pte Ltd Thomas Teo Total Trading Asia Pte Ltd Neil & Mijong Tottman Peter CY Wong Van Cleef & Arpels Anonymous (4)

$5,000 and above Prof Arnoud De Meyer David Lim Teck Leong Chng Hak-Peng Vinod & Melissa Kumar Dr Gralf Sieghold Robin Ian Rawlings The Community Foundation of Singapore Dorothy Chan Chartered Asset Management Pte Ltd Lionel Choi Goh Geok Ling Steven & Liwen Holmes

Ross & Florence Jennings Dr André Klein Lin Diaan-Yi Loke Cheng Kim Foundation Poh Beng Swee Mr & Dr Peter Sheren Taizo Son Marie Elaine Teo Manju Vangal & Arudra Vangal Anonymous

$1,000 and above Guru Viswanath Mr & Mrs Leong Wah Kheong Lim Swee Lin nTan Corporate Advisory Pte Ltd Bernard Jean Sabrier Dr Tan Chin Nam Eric Wong William H Hernstadt Michelle Loh Lawrence & Celeste Basapa Pauline Chan & Jean Nasr Julian Chang & Sandra Chang Dr & Mrs Choy Khai Meng Mark Dembitz Serene Tan & Carol Shieh Daniel Harel & Laurence Harel Mr & Mrs Winston Hauw Guy J P Hentsch Prof Kanti Bajpai Khoo Boon Hui Paterson Lau & Pauline Tan Tina Lee Tony & Serene Liok Oscar Mico Dr Ng Eng Hen & Prof Ivy Ng Vihari Poddar Dr Adrian Saurajen Peter Seah Ron & Janet Stride Seah & Siak Saori Kousaka Alicia Thian Jamie Thomas Whang Tar Liang Kris & Elizabeth Wiluan Lucien Wong David Harris Zemans Zhang Weihua Derek Quah John & Eliza Bittleston Enhao Reuben Ong See Tho Kai Yin Timothy Pitrelli Jennie Chua Innocentia Krisnawati Christopher Chen Adya Elizabeth Sunindar Robert Langstraat Eddy D'Isidoro Igor Yuzefovich Aloha Dental Pte Ltd Pauline Ang Hooi Yeong John Chen Bobby Chin Belinda Chua Elizabeth Fong Florian Hoppe Eugenia Gajardo Aaron Hardy High Notes Music Solutions Taehyon Ahn Peggy Kek

Ying-ru Chen-Keong Ad Ketelaars Paul Kitamura Prof Tommy Koh Kwa Chong Seng Dr Norman Lee Lek Lee Yong Wendy Leong Betty Lim & Ng Yi-Kheong Brian Lo Million Lighting Co Pte Ltd Ng Pei-Sian Monique Ong Jenny Kim-O'Connor Michael & Megumi Schlesinger Prof Richard R. Smith Tan Lian Yok Fatima Terrill Wan Pong Liang Wee Joo Yeow Wee Kok Wah Iwona Wiktorowska William Wong Dr Yeo Ning Hong Aznan Abu Bakar Ang Seow Long Cees & Raife Armstrong Marcie Ann Ball Chan Ah Khim Chan Wai Leong Sharon Chandran Cynthia Chee Richard Chen Cheng Wei Margaret Chew Evelyn Rachel Chin Barry Duncan Clarke Hartley Clay John S Davison Maureen Derooij Jamie Lloyd Evans Karen Fawcett Irina Francken Christopher John Fussner Brian Holt Gambrill Patricia Gaw Goh Chiu Gak Goh Sze Wei Jerry Gwee Mark Edward Hansen Khor Cheng Kian Belinda Koh Yuh Ling Takashi Kousaka Vincent Lam Ho Ming Eugene Lee Lee Li-Ming Madeleine Lee Lee Peck Gee Lee Shu Yen Lee Siong Ted Viktor Leendertz

Leong Keng Hong Leow Oon Geok Xiao Li Bettina Lieske Alvin Liew Liew Geok Cheng Mavis Lim Geck Chin/Lim & Tan Securities Pte Ltd Lim Hong Eng Janet Lim Leong Thian Stanley Ling Yu Fei Stuart Liventals Jeffrey Loke Sin Hun Victor Loo Low Boon Hon Low Fatt Kin Benjamin Ma Eunice Mah Li Lien Adelina Mah Li Ting Andre Maniam Gillian Metzger Izumi Miyake Joseph Mocanu Kathleen Moroney Mr & Mrs Willem Mark Nabarro David Neo Chin Wee Hunter Nield Todd On Pan Sook Ying Felicia Herve Pauze Allyson Rameker Jonathan Reiter Charles Robertson Andreas Ruschkowski Arend Schumacher Retno Setyaningsih Naoyoshi Nick Shimoda Bernhard Steiner Bo Sun Tan Boon Ngee Tan Cheng Guan Tan Kok Huan Tan Kok Kiong Ivan Tan Meng Cheng Giles Tan Ming Yee Tan Wee Kheng Kenneth Michael Daniel Tando Mildred Tao Teo Ee Peng Tian Xiaoye Michiel van Selm Peter White Wong Liang Keen Wu Peichan Valerie Satoru Yano Annie Yeo Michelle Yeo Li-Ching Vanessa Yeo Anonymous (17) This list is for donations from 1 May 2017 to 27 Apr 2018.

DMITRI SHO S TA KOVICH (19 0 6 –1975) Suite for Jazz Orchestra No. 1 1.

2.

3.

8’00

Waltz Polka Foxtrot (Blues)

Shostakovich was a man of many diverse interests. Almost fanatical about the football team Zenit Leningrad (now known as Zenit St Petersburg), he also qualified as a football referee, and wrote a ballet in 1930, The Golden Age, about a soccer team which encounters a match fixing scandal and imprisonment. The ballet also incorporates his witty orchestration of Vincent Youmans’ Tea for Two which was written in response to a bet from conductor Nikolai Malko in 1927, that Shostakovich could not orchestrate the song from memory within an hour.

Shostakovich did so in just 45 minutes.

There is also one Waltz which has snuck into popular consciousness across the years, and the discovery that Shostakovich

Instrumentation soprano saxophone (doubling on alto sax) alto saxophone tenor saxophone 2 trumpets trombone wood block, snare drum, cymbals, glockenspiel, xylophone piano Hawaiian guitar banjo violin double bass World Premiere: 24 Mar 1934, Leningrad First performed by SSO: 17 Aug 2018

composed it is usually met with surprise.

The Waltz No. 2 (popularly known as the “Second Waltz”) from Shostakovich’s Suite for Variety Orchestra was popularised by the Dutch entertainer André Rieu, and featured in Stanley Kubrick’s final film, Eyes Wide Shut, to eerie effect.

It took Shostakovich several years after his bet with Malko to write what he evidently considered to be a somewhat jazzy work, and that came in 1934. He entered a

PROGRAMME NOTES

Russian composer Dimitri Shostakovich is most well-known for his solemn and sarcastic symphonies and string quartets – and for his opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District sparking an official uproar in Soviet Russia. The composer earned Stalin’s personal disapproval and the opera was condemned in an editorial in the newspaper Pravda, titled “Muddle instead of Music” – with its own Wikipedia entry today.

Suite for Jazz Orchestra No. 1

competition in Leningrad which looked to elevate the stature of jazz music from being effectively café music to something more serious. For this, he wrote the Jazz Suite No. 1, which contains a trumpetled Waltz and a melancholic melody which foreshadows the more developed waltzes you’ll hear later tonight. A trumpet fanfare leads into the Polka, where – like in the polka from The Golden Age – the xylophone takes centre stage before passing the chirpy tune around the diverse instruments on display. The concluding Foxtrot (Blues) provides Shostakovich’s approximation of what Blues might be, and a smoky reminiscence of a Parisian nightclub – with a special cameo by a Hawaiian guitar.

Suite for Variety Orchestra 1.

2.

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4.

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20’00

March Dance I Dance II Little Polka Lyric Waltz Waltz I Waltz II Finale

Shostakovich wrote a sequel to this Jazz Suite in 1938, but the score was lost in the Second World War. It subsequently remerged and was reconstructed by musicologist Gerard McBurney in 2000.

What had previously been known as Jazz Suite No. 2 for many years was then (correctly) renamed Suite for Variety Orchestra.

This Suite was written for a theatre orchestra with a wide variety of instruments featured, from a saxophone quartet to an accordion, and even guitars and pianos make an appearance. He also repurposed various movements from his other compositions by adding a new coat of varnish, ensuring a coherent sound world for the suite. The movements in this Suite are commonly re-ordered by different orchestras worldwide, so do not be surprised if you hear movements from this Suite performed in a different order somewhere else!

A rumbustious March opens the Suite, with robust trumpets leading the way before saxophones introduce a more leisurely episode which is taken up by the orchestra. Dance 1 was adapted from Folk Feast (National Holiday) in Shostakovich’s acclaimed film score to The Gadfly and contains some of his most exuberant and joyful music – without a hint of his usual biting sarcasm – and concludes with the composer’s trademark flourishes. The piccolo scampers around in the folk-like Dance 2 in a state of almost constant acceleration. A cheerful Little Polka is next, with several yelps interrupting the xylophone’s scurrying melody before it darts to the strings and woodwinds. A virtuosic moto perpetuo section leads into a glissando-led episode before the instrumental yelping returns.

A trio of brief waltzes follows. The Lyric Waltz and its soulful saxophone tune is built to poignant heights by the full orchestra, with the accordion spinning arabesques over it. Waltz 1 seems to pay homage to Tchaikovsky – the original

Russian waltz king – evoking his favoured descending melody lines and harmonic modulations.

The saxophone returns with an emotive melody in the famous Waltz 2, with the other members of the saxophone quartet responding and echoing like a trio of backing singers. The orchestra joins in, swaying along, as the music becomes more impassioned. A trombone awkwardly takes over the saxophone’s opening melody, before the full orchestra brings the waltz to a robust close.

Programme notes by Christopher Cheong

Instrumentation 2 flutes, 1 doubling on piccolo oboe 2 clarinets 2 alto saxophones 2 tenor saxophones (1st doubling on soprano sax) bassoon 3 horns 3 trumpets 3 trombones tuba timpani xylophone, snare drum, hi-hat, glockenspiel, triangle, tambourine, bass drum, cymbals, suspended cymbal, vibraphone harp 2 pianos, 1 doubling on celesta guitar accordion strings World Premiere: 1 Dec 1988, London First performed by SSO: 20 Apr 2001

PROGRAMME NOTES

The Finale whirls up, recalling elements of the previous dances. The accordion, saxophones, and xylophone take turns to lead proceedings, before the full orchestra brings this suite to a spirited close with a short quotation from the opening March.

Suite for Variety Orchestra

G eor g e G e r sh w in (18 98–1937 ) Excerpts from The Gershwin Songbook 45’00 (orch. HERSHY KAY) 1. Strike Up the Band 2. Sweet and Low Down 3. Somebody Loves Me 4. Bidin’ My Time 5. ‘S Wonderful 6. That Certain Feeling 7. Do Do Do 8. Lady Be Good 9. The Man I Love 10. Stairway to Paradise 11. Embraceable You 12. Fascinating Rhythm 13. Who Cares 14. My One and Only 15. Liza (16. Clap Yo’ Hands) 17. I got Rhythm The George Gershwin Songbook is a generic title used by many pop musicians to describe a collection of their favourite Gershwin tunes. It is interesting to note that there was an actual Gershwin Songbook compiled by the composer himself. On almost any night of the week in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s, Gershwin could be found at one of the parties that filled the elite New York social calendar. Ebullient personality aside, his enormous popularity at these gatherings was no doubt due to his inexhaustible enthusiasm for seating himself at the piano for where he regaled the guests with

all of his latest songs in wildly virtuosic arrangements. Gershwin’s musician friends were constantly urging him to write down these nocturnal improvisations so they could be enjoyed for posterity.

He finally obliged and the George Gershwin Songbook was published in 1932 consisting of 18 of his favourite songs beautifully bound with illustrations by the artist Constantin Alajalov. Unfortunately, all Gershwin actually wrote down was one chorus of each song, so the majority of the arrangements fill only two pages of music and take less than sixty seconds to play.

While such brevity is hardly conducive to concert hall performance, the Songbook nevertheless provides welcome insight into Gershwin’s improvisatory skills at the piano.

One person who owned a copy of the Songbook was the great Russian choreographer George Balanchine who had worked with Gershwin in Hollywood shortly before the composer’s death in 1937. Many years later, Balanchine was playing through the Songbook at home one day (he was quite a good pianist) when he realized that if the song arrangements were ‘filled out’ with an introduction and an additional chorus or two played by the orchestra, the result might make an interesting accompaniment to a ballet.

With the help of the composer Hershy Kay, Balanchine created ‘Who Cares?’, which was first performed by the New York City Ballet on 5 February 1970.

Kay and Balanchine use 16 Gershwin songs in the ballet although only 14 of them are in the original Songbook. The two newcomers are ‘Bidin' My Time’ and

‘Embraceable You’, both of which pre-date the Songbook but were not included by Gershwin. Kay opted not to use Gershwin’s piano parts in ‘Strike Up the Band’, ‘Somebody Loves Me’, and ‘The Man I Love’, but his colourful orchestrations more than compensate for the omissions.

Balanchine wrote: “George’s music is so natural for dancing, so easy to work with … I remember he spoke often to me about wanting to write for the ballet. So I like to think this is George’s ballet, this is the ballet we have done for him.”

Programme note by Andrew Litton

Instrumentation 2 flutes, 1 doubling on piccolo 2 oboes, 1 doubling on cor anglais 2 clarinets bass clarinet 2 bassoons 4 horns 3 trumpets 3 trombones tuba timpani triangle glockenspiel xylophone vibraphone traps consisting of snare drum, bass drum, triangle, cowbells, wood block, cymbals harp celesta strings World Premiere: 5 Feb 1970, New York First performed by SSO: 11 Jun 1990, Singapore Arts Festival

b oa r d of dir ec tor s & COMMITTE e S board of directors

SSO Council

SNYO Committee

Mr Goh Yew Lin (Chairman) Ms Yong Ying-I (Deputy Chairman) Mr Ang Chek Meng Mrs Odile Benjamin Mr Chng Hak-Peng Mr Lionel Choi Mr Warren Fernandez Prof Arnoud De Meyer Mr Heinrich Grafe Ms Liew Wei Li Ms Lim Mei Mr Sanjiv Misra Mr Andreas Sohmen-Pao Mr Paul Tan Dr Kelly Tang Mr Yee Chen Fah

Prof Cham Tao Soon (Honorary Chairman) Mr Alan Chan (Chairman) Mr Choo Chiau Beng Dr Geh Min Mr Goh Geok Khim Mr Khoo Boon Hui Prof Tommy Koh 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

Ms Liew Wei Li (Chairlady) Mr Ang Chek Meng Ms Vivien Goh Dr Kee Kirk Chin Mrs Valarie Wilson

Nominating and Executive Committee

HUMAN RESOURCES Committee

Mr Goh Yew Lin (Chairman) Prof Arnoud de Meyer Mr Paul Tan Ms Yong Ying-I

Ms Yong Ying-I (Chairman) Prof Arnoud de Meyer Mr Yee Chen Fah Dr Kelly Tang

Audit Committee Mr Yee Chen Fah (Chairman) Mr Heinrich Grafe Ms Lim Mei Endowment Fund Committee Mr Goh Yew Lin (Chairman) Mr David Goh Mr Sanjiv Misra

Musicians’ Committee Mr Chan Wei Shing Mr Jon Paul Dante Mr Jamie Hersch Mr Ng Pei-Sian Mr Mark Suter Mr Christoph Wichert Mr Yeo Teow Meng

SSO LADIES’ LEAGUE Mrs Odile Benjamin (Chairlady) Mrs Kwan Lui (Deputy Chairlady) 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

MANAGEMENT CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Mr Chng Hak-Peng

CEO OFFICE

PROGRAMMES (VCH)

Ms Shirin Foo Mr Lim Yeow Siang Mr Edward Loh Mr Chris Yong

Ms Erin Tan

HUMAN RESOURCES & ADMINISTRATION

DEVELOPMENT & PARTNERSHIPS

Mr Desmen Low Ms Melissa Lee Ms Evelyn Siew

ORCHESTRA MANAGEMENT Mr Ernest Khoo (Head) Mr Chia Jit Min Ms Tan Wei Tian Concert Operations Ms Kimberly Kwa (Production Manager) Ms Chin Rosherna Mr Ramayah Elango Mr Md Fariz bin Samsuri LIBRARY Mr Lim Lip Hua Ms Priscilla Neo PROGRAMMES (SSO) Ms Kua Li Leng (Head) Ms Teo Chew Yen Community Outreach Ms Kathleen Tan Ms Vanessa Lee Choral Programmes Ms Regina Lee Ms Whitney Tan

Ms Peggy Kek (Head) Corporate Communications Ms Leong Wenshan Mr Chris Yong Development & Sponsorship Mr Anthony Chng Ms Nikki Chuang

SINGAPORE NATIONAL YOUTH ORCHESTRA Ms Pang Siu Yuin (Head) Ms Yuen May Leng Mr Tan Yong Qing Ms Tang Ya Yun ABRSM

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS & CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE Ms Cindy Lim (Head) Mr Chia Han-Leon Ms Myrtle Lee Ms Jana Loh Ms Hong Shu Hui Ms Melissa Tan Ms Cheryl Pek Ms Dacia Cheang Ms Nur Shafiqah bte Othman CORPORATE SERVICES Mr Rick Ong (Head) Mr Alan Ong (Finance) Ms Goh Hoey Fen (Finance) Mr Jeffrey Tang (IT) Mr Md Zailani bin Md Said

Ms Hay Su-San (Head) Ms Patricia Yee Ms Lai Li-Yng Mr Joong Siow Chong

Supported by

Patron Sponsor

TOTE BOARD GROUP

Official Hotel

Official Radio Station

Official Airline

Sponsors

LEE FOUNDATION

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

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