A Little Mozart with Chloe Chua

A L I T TL E M O ZART WI TH CHLOE C H UA CLASSICAL CHARM 4 DECEMBER 2020 W AT CH T HE S TR EAM O N LIN E ON S I S TI C L I VE

Music for all time, the music of hope

Save the Date SSO CHRISTMAS FUNDRAISING CONCERT LIVE AT THE ESPLANADE 15 & 16 DECEMBER 2020 7.30PM, ESPLANADE CONCERT HALL • Spend a contemplative festive evening with the SSO Strings • Donations for seat bookings are via SSO concert page (2.5 times tax deduction for Singapore tax residents) • Exclusive priority seats and boxes available via direct bookings at director_development@sso.org.sg

A L ITTLE MO Z ART WI TH CHL O E C HUA CLASSICAL CHARM

4 Dec 2020, 8pm (Online premiere on SISTIC Live) Viewable from 4 Dec to 18 Dec with valid tickets.

Singapore Symphony Orchestra Hans Graf Chief Conductor Chloe Chua violin

MO ZART

Violin Concerto No. 2 in D major, K.211

21 mins

B EET H O V E N

Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92

36 mins Concert Duration: 1 hr

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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, as well as outreach and community performances take place at the 673seat Victoria Concert Hall, the home of the SSO. The orchestra performs over 60 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 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 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 the 2020/21 concert season, the SSO welcomes renowned maestro Hans Graf as its Chief Conductor.

Notable SSO releases on the BIS label 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.

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H ANS G RAF Chief Conductor

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A L ITTL E M OZ AR T W ITH C H L OE C H U A | 4 D E C 2 0 2 0

H A N S G RAF Chief Conductor

Hans Graf is a frequent guest with major orchestras around the world including with the Boston Symphony, the Cleveland and Philadelphia Orchestras, the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw and Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestras, the London Symphony Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Budapest Festival Orchestra, the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, the Sydney and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras, the Seoul, Hong Kong and Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestras.

Hans Graf’s discography includes all symphonies of Mozart and Schubert, the complete orchestral works by Henri Dutilleux and the world premiere recording of Zemlinsky’s opera Es war einmal. His recording of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck with the Houston Symphony won the ECHO Klassik 2017 award and the Grammy 2018 for Best Opera Recording.

The Austrian conductor Hans Graf is the Chief Conductor of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra from the 2020/21 concert season.

He held the role of Music Director of the Houston Symphony Orchestra 2001–2013, making him the longest-serving Music Director in the orchestra’s 100 year history.

Prior to this, he was Music Director of the Calgary Philharmonic and of the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine. He has also held the post of Music Director at the Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg and the Basque National Orchestra.

Hans Graf has been made Chevalier de l’Ordre de la Légion d’Honneur by the French Government (2002) and was awarded the Grand Decoration of Honour of the Republic of Austria (2007). He is also Professor Emeritus for Orchestral Conducting at the Universität Mozarteum in Salzburg.

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A LI T T LE MO Z AR T W ITH C H L OE C H U A | 4 DE C 2020

C HLO E CH U A violin Young violinist Chloe Chua's meteoric rise on the classical music concert stage culminated in being awarded the joint 1st prize at the 2018 Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists.

The 13-year-old from Singapore had also garnered the top prize at the 24th Andrea Postacchini Violin Competition, and the 3rd prize at the 2017 Zhuhai International Mozart Competition. She has also been awarded prizes at Thailand International Strings Competition (Junior Category Grand Prize), Singapore National Piano and Violin Competition (1st Prize, Junior 2017, 3rd Prize Junior 2015).

More recently, she has performed with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, China Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra, AFA festival Orchestra, Salzburg Chamber Soloists, Russian National Youth Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Yuri Bashmet, Kammerorchester Basel conducted by Umberto Benedetti Michelangeli and the China Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Maestro Xia Xiaotang.

She has been enrolled in the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts School of Young Talents (NAFA) since she was four, and is currently under the tutelage of Yin Ke, leader of their Strings programme.

Her stunning maturity and musicality has captured the hearts of audience around the world, and her performances have taken her to concert halls across the U.K, Thailand, Italy, Germany, China, Saudi Arabia, USA and Singapore, and in festivals such as the New Virtuosi Queenswood Mastercourse, Atlanta Festival Academy and the Singapore Violin Festival.

She performs on a Vincenzo Postiglio, Napoli, 1884 on generous loan from Dr Peter Chew.

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SECO N D VIOL IN

T HE ORC HE S T R A

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

HANS GRAF Chief Conductor JOSHUA TAN Associate Conductor ANDREW LITTON Principal Guest Conductor

VIO LA

CHOO HOEY Conductor Emeritus

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

LAN SHUI Conductor Laureate EUDENICE PALARUAN Choral Director WONG LAI FOON Choirmaster

CELL O Ng Pei-Sian Principal, The HEAD Foundation Chair Yu Jing Associate Principal Guo Hao Fixed Chair Chan Wei Shing Jamshid Saydikarimov* Song Woon Teng Wang Yan Wang Zihao* Wu Dai Dai Zhao Yu Er

FIRS T VI OL I N Kong Zhao Hui# Associate Concertmaster Chan Yoong-Han Acting Concertmaster/Fixed Chair Cao Can* Chen Da Wei Duan Yu Ling Foo Say Ming Jin Li Kong Xianlong Cindy Lee Karen Tan William Tan Wei Zhe Ye Lin* Zhang Si Jing*

D O U B LE BAS S Yang Zheng Yi Associate Principal Karen Yeo Fixed Chair Olga Alexandrova Jacek Mirucki Guennadi Mouzyka Wang Xu

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FLUTE

TR U M P ET

Jin Ta Principal Evgueni Brokmiller Associate Principal Roberto Alvarez Miao Shanshan

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

PICCOLO

TR O M B O N E

Roberto Alvarez Assistant Principal

Allen Meek Principal Damian Patti Associate Principal Samuel Armstrong

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

B A SS T R O MBONE Wang Wei Assistant Principal TU B A

COR ANG L AI S

Tomoki Natsume Principal

Elaine Yeo Associate Principal TIM P A N I CLARINE T

Christian Schiøler Principal Jonathan Fox Associate Principal

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

P ER CU SSIO N

Tang Xiao Ping Assistant Principal

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

BAS S OON

H A RP

Liu Chang Associate Principal Christoph Wichert Zhao Ying Xue

Gulnara Mashurova Principal

BAS S CL AR I NE T

CONTRABAS S OON Zhao Ying Xue Assistant Principal HORN Gao Jian Associate Principal Jamie Hersch Associate Principal Marc-Antoine Robillard Associate Principal Hoang Van Hoc

* With deep appreciation to the Rin Collection for their generous loan of string instruments. # Kong Zhao Hui 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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SSO CHRISTMAS CONCERT (ONLINE) A SHINING STAR ON THE HIGHEST PLACE FRI 18 DEC 2020 8PM

WATCH THE STREAM ONLINE ON SISTIC LIVE

SINGAPORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA JOSHUA TAN ASSOCIATE CONDUCTOR KONG ZHAO HUI VIOLIN SINGAPORE SYMPHONY CHORUSES EUDENICE PALARUAN CHORAL DIRECTOR WONG LAI FOON CHOIRMASTER NG PEI-SIAN MASTER OF CEREMONIES ERIC WONG DIRECTOR

Merry Christmas! 2020 has been a year of many unusual memories, but the SSO won’t let it pass without our annual musical gathering of yuletide cheer. Join us and the Singapore Symphony Choruses in our special year-end celebration, featuring Baroque classics by Bach, Handel and Vivaldi as well as contemporary Christmas carols by popular choral music composer John Rutter. The show is directed by our "Count On Me, Singapore" director, Eric Wong. We wish you musical joy, harmony and peace on Earth!

TICKETS FROM $10

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I II III

Allegro moderato Andante Rondeau. Allegro

Mozart’s violin concerti present a strange musicological problem: they were composed in a short period of time, but it is not clear what occasion prompted their creation, or who they were written for. A story is sometimes told that Mozart had been so inspired by a meeting with Haydn that he produced these five concerti in the span of half a year, but this sequence of events is more reliably attached to the six string quartets published as Opus 10, nicknamed the “Haydn Quartets”. Those came later, and are actually dedicated to Haydn. To add further to the muddle, the manuscripts of Mozart’s violin concerti had their dates tampered with: the fifth concerto had its 1775 date scratched out and replaced with 1780, and then changed back to 1775; for a long time, three other concerti were confused as Mozart’s, and given various numbers. In any case, these concerti were all composed before his likely first encounter with Haydn, though Mozart would already have been well aware of Haydn’s music long before then.

in ebullient form, and are perhaps the more difficult of the lot, with virtuosic writing involving very high solo lines.

Listen out for operatic elements in this concerto: by this point, Mozart had already written a dozen operas, including the highly accomplished La finta giardiniera, and this can be heard in the way groups of instruments interact. The pair of oboes add weight to orchestral tutti, anchoring the high violin lines. A lively first movement gives way to a wonderfully expansive pastorale, in which the oboes and horns punctuate cadences and act as signal-bearers for the solo violin. The rondo-finale actually opens with the violin solo leading the theme, an especially Mozartian touch, and dances its way to an exuberant end.

What is certain about the ones that are definitely Mozart’s (Nos. 1–5) is that they show him as a confident and youthful composer with a masterful command of string technique. Mozart was a world-class keyboardist and also an accomplished violinist, although he preferred playing the viola. The violin writing in these works is brilliant, always delicately poised against the orchestral forces. The first two show Mozart

Instrumentation 5 first violins, 4 second violins, 3 violas, 3 cellos, double bass, 2 oboes, 2 horns First performed by SSO 23 May 2015 (Cho-Liang Lin) 17

A LI T T LE MO Z AR T W ITH C H L OE C H U A | 4 DE C 2020

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756–1791) Violin Concerto No. 2 in D major, K.211 (1775)

A L ITTL E M OZ AR T W ITH C H L OE C H U A | 4 D E C 2 0 2 0

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770–1827) Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92 (1811–1812) I II III IV

Poco sostenuto – Vivace Allegretto Presto Allegro con brio

Beethoven considered the Seventh Symphony to be one of his finest works.

Composed in 1811–1812 while Beethoven was in the spa town of Teplice, he conducted the premiere in 1813, and the popularity of the concert was such that a repeat was arranged, and that further success ensured Beethoven financial stability from then on. The other Beethoven work in the programme, Wellington’s Victory — probably the first musical work to use artillery as a sound effect, way before Tchaikovsky — is now widely agreed to be Beethoven’s worst composition.

Contemporary colleagues noted Beethoven hamming it up on the conductor’s podium.

And well he should: the symphony is a longbreathed, dramatic work marshalling what compositional resources Beethoven had at that point in his career. The opening casts an optimistic light on the rest of the piece, with a strong A major giving way to a soft C major and F major glow (perhaps an allusion to his previous Pastoral Symphony) and the second movement showing unusual restraint on his part to create a sustained mysterious mood at the beginning, foreshadowing some of Schubert’s best orchestral moments. The movement turned out to be so popular it earned a place as an orchestral staple immediately, performed as a standalone piece all across Europe in the 19th century.

3D Sculpture of Beethoven by Hadi Karimi Source: instagram.com/hadikarimi.art

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A LI T T LE MO Z AR T W ITH C H L OE C H U A | 4 DE C 2020

The Scherzo and Trio of the third movement uses a typical Beethoven touch: a simple length extension via repetition of the middle section to give it more weight in the whole structure. This allowed audiences to hear the Austrian hymn he borrowed for the trio twice, and effectively acts as a longer period of lighter music before the drama of the finale.

Racing out of the starting blocks with trumpet blasts and timpani offbeats, the last movement is one of Beethoven’s best sonata forms, and remains at a forward tilt throughout its surprisingly short length. The string section of the orchestra is used as a rhythm section, driving the music forward, even through some of the most surprising harmonic moments in all of Beethoven.

The lack of a lyrical contrast here is made up by the sheer energy of the orchestral writing, and even a rare use of the tripleforte dynamic in the coda. Wagner, seduced by the whirling rhythms of this irrepressible finale, called this symphony the “apotheosis of the dance”; and indeed, this symphony has never left the concert stage since its first performance.

Programme notes by Thomas Ang

Instrumentation 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, 5 first violins, 4 second violins, 3 violas, 3 cellos, double bass World Premiere 8 Dec 1813, Vienna First performed by SSO 11 Feb 1980 19

PRESIDENT’S YOUNG PERFORMERS CONCERT AUDITION IT’S TIME FOR YOU TO SHINE.

If you are a Singaporean instrumentalist performing on Western classical instruments such as strings, woodwind, brass and percussion, audition now to perform with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra at our President’s Young Performers Concert 2021.

Joshua Tan SSO Associate Conductor and conductor of the President's Young Performers Concert

ELIGIBILITY Applicants should be Singapore citizens of no more than 25 years of age, as of 1 July 2021.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS: Please prepare and submit the following: 1. Applicant’s biography 2. A high-quality video featuring applicant’s recent performance of a concerto written for chamber-sized orchestra.

3. The composer’s name, title of work, duration of each movement and edition (if applicable).

Submission and Application form: ssoperfor.ms/PYPC2021audition < SCAN TO APPLY APPLICATION DEADLINE 30 December 2020 For enquiries, please email to pypc@sso.org.sg.

Shortlisted applicants will be notified by email in January 2021 to participate in a live audition scheduled to take place in February 2021.

Shortlisted applicants should be prepared to play the concerto in full and should arrange for their own piano accompanist to play the orchestral part.

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BOA RD OF D IRE C T ORS & C OMMI T T E E S CHAIR Mr Goh Yew Lin SSO COUNCIL

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Ms Yong Ying-I (Deputy Chair) Mr Ang Chek Meng Mr Chang Chee Pey Mr Chng Hak-Peng Mr Chng Kai Fong 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 NOMINATING AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Mr Goh Yew Lin (Chair) Prof Arnoud De Meyer (Treasurer) Mr Paul Tan Ms Yong Ying-I

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MARKE TING C O M M U N I C AT I O N S

Ms Pang Siu Yuin (Head) Ms Tang Ya Yun Ms Tan Sing Yee

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 D I G I TA L S S O Ms Cindy Lim (Lead) Mr Chia Jit Min (Asst Lead) Mr Chia Han-Leon Mr Lim Yeow Siang Mr Hans Sørensen

S I N G A P O R E N AT I O N A L YOUTH ORCHES TR A

ABRSM Ms Hay Su-San (Head) Ms Patricia Yee Ms Lai Li-Yng Mr Joong Siow Chong C O V I D -1 9 R E S P O N S E C O O R D I N AT I O N Ms Lillian Yin (Lead) Mr Rick Ong (Asst Lead)

S UP P OR T ED BY

PATRO N S P ON S OR

MATCH ED BY

M A J O R D ON OR S

Mr & Mrs Goh Yew Lin

S E A S O N PA R T N E R S Official Community Partner

Official Outdoor Media Partner

Official Airline

S E A S O N PATRO NS

Christopher & Rosy Ho

Aquilus Pte Ltd

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 talent 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.