BAIBA SKRIDE PLAYS MOZART PROFOUND BEAUTY 1 & 2 DEC 2021 ESPLANADE CONCERT HALL
Thursday & Friday, 16 & 17 December 2021 7.30pm, Esplanade Concert Hall
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PROFO U N D B E AU T Y 1 & 2 Dec 2021 Esplanade Concert Hall Singapore Symphony Orchestra Pierre Bleuse conductor Baiba Skride violin
MO ZART
Violin Concerto No. 4 in D major, K.218
26 mins
Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K.550
35 mins Concert Duration: approximately 1 hr 15 mins (with no intermission)
B A I B A S KRI D E PL AYS M OZ AR T | 1 & 2 DE C 2021
B AIBA S KRI DE PLAY S M OZ A R T
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. In 2021, the SSO clinched third place in the prestigious Orchestra of the Year Award by Gramophone. 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 673-seat 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 second performance at the Berlin Philharmonie. 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 2020, the SSO appointed renowned Austrian conductor Hans Graf as its Chief Conductor. In a time greatly disrupted by COVID-19, the SSO continued to keep music alive and lift spirits up through a multitude of digital concerts and videos, which crossed a million views in six months. The SSO has released more than 50 recordings in its 40-year history, with more than 30 on the BIS label. The most recent critically acclaimed albums include a Rachmaninoff box set (2021), Richard Strauss’ “Rosenkavalier and Other Works” (2020), and three Debussy discs “La Mer”, “Jeux” and “Nocturnes”. The orchestra has also released albums of contemporary works linked to East Asia, including works by Chen Yi, Zhou Long, Bright Sheng, Alexander Tcherepnin, and others. 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.
H ANS G RAF Chief Conductor The SSO is part of the Singapore Symphony Group, which also manages the Singapore Symphony Choruses, the Singapore National Youth Orchestra, and the VCHpresents chamber music series, the Singapore International Piano Festival and the biennial National Piano & Violin Competition. The mission of the 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.
BAIBA SK R IDE PL AYS M OZ AR T | 1 & 2 D E C 2 0 2 1
© MARINE PIERROT DETRY
Bleuse will also return to the Tonkünstler Orchestra, Ensemble Intercontemporain at the Philharmonie de Paris, Radio France Présences Festival and National Philharmonic of Russia.
P I ER RE B L E U SE conductor
Other recent highlights include invitations to conduct the Orchestre de Paris, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, MDR Sinfonieorchester Leipzig, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Basel and Paris chamber orchestras, Russia National Orchestra, Brussels Philharmonic, Belgium National Orchestra, China National Symphony Orchestra and Utah Symphony; the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Opéra National de Lyon, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Orchestre National d’Île-de-France, Bordeaux National Orchestra, Orchestre d’Auvergne, de Cannes, de Nancy, as well as Rouen, Tours and Toulon opera orchestras. He is committed to opera and last season conducted the Opéra National de Lyon in Dido and Aeneas Remembered at the Ruhrtriennale, and the televised Victoires de la Musique Classique awards ceremony in 2018, working alongside Angela Gheorghiu, Gautier Capuçon, Sabine Devieilhe and Jakub Jósef Orliński.
The highly sought-after French conductor Pierre Bleuse is the newly announced Chief Conductor of Odense Symphony Orchestra from the 2021/22 season, and Artistic Director of renowned Pablo Casals Festival in Prades (France). This season, he debuts with Orchestre National de France at the Theatre des Champs-Elysées, Singapore Symphony, Tokyo Symphony, Berner Symphonieorchester, Flanders Symphony Orchestra on tour, as well as Orchestre Symphonique de Québec and Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège. Pierre
As a champion of new music, Pierre Bleuse serves as Joint Music Director of Lemanic Modern Ensemble. He founded the Musika Orchestra Academy in Toulouse in 2008, bringing together talented young musicians from around the world. 4
B A I B A S KRI D E PL AYS M OZ AR T | 1 & 2 DE C 2021
B A IB A SK RI D E violin
© MARCO BORGGREVE
Baiba Skride’s natural approach to her music-making has endeared her to some of today’s most important conductors and orchestras worldwide. She is constantly praised for her refreshing interpretations, her sensitivity and delight in the music. Highlights of Baiba Skride’s 2021/22 season include the season opening of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig with Andris Nelsons. In celebration of the composer’s 90th birthday she returns to the orchestra to perform Gubaidulina’s Violin Concerto No. 1 “Offertorium”, which she also plays with the London Symphony Orchestra and the Hallé Orchestra. Additionally, she returns to the hr-Sinfonieorchester, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Orchester der Komischen Oper Berlin, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg and Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse among others.
Baiba Skride is anticipating the release of her latest solo recording in January 2022, which adds to her prolific discography including all five Mozart concertos with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra and Bartók with the WDR Sinfonieorchester, both with Eivind Aadland, under the Orfeo label. Skride was born into a musical Latvian family in Riga where she began her studies, transferring in 1995 to the Conservatory of Music and Theatre in Rostock. In 2001 she won the First Prize of the Queen Elisabeth Competition. Baiba Skride plays the Yfrah Neaman Stradivarius kindly loaned to her by the Neaman family through the Beare’s International Violin Society.
Baiba Skride is a sought-after chamber musician. She is one of the founding members of the Skride Quartet. In 2021/22 Skride also performs in trio with her sister Lauma Skride and cellist Harriet Krijgh, and in different chamber music projects with Alban Gerhardt, Brett Dean and others. 5
SEC O N D V IOL IN
T HE ORC HE S T R A HANS GRAF Chief Conductor ANDREW LITTON Principal Guest Conductor CHOO HOEY Conductor Emeritus LAN SHUI Conductor Laureate EUDENICE PALARUAN Choral Director WONG LAI FOON Choirmaster
Michael Loh Associate Principal Nikolai Koval* Hai-Won Kwok Chikako Sasaki* Margit Saur Shao Tao Tao Wu Man Yun* Xu Jueyi* Yeo Teow Meng Yin Shu Zhan* Zhao Tian* VIO L A Manchin Zhang Principal Guan Qi Associate Principal Gu Bing Jie* Fixed Chair Marietta Ku Luo Biao Julia Park Shui Bing Janice Tsai Dandan Wang Yang Shi Li
FIRS T VI OL I N
C EL L O
(Position vacant) Concertmaster, GK Goh Chair Kong Zhao Hui1 Associate Concertmaster Chan Yoong-Han2 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*
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 Wu Dai Dai Zhao Yu Er D O U B LE BAS S Yang Zheng Yi Associate Principal Karen Yeo Fixed Chair Olga Alexandrova Jacek Mirucki Guennadi Mouzyka Wang Xu
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 TR O M B O N E
PICCOLO 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 COR ANGL AI S Elaine Yeo Associate Principal CLARINET Ma Yue Principal Li Xin Associate Principal Liu Yoko Tang Xiao Ping BAS S CL AR I NE T Tang Xiao Ping Assistant Principal BAS S OON
B A SS T R O MBONE Wang Wei Assistant Principal TU B A Tomoki Natsume Principal TIM P A N I Christian Schiøler Principal P ER CU SSIO N Jonathan Fox Principal Mark Suter Associate Principal Mario Choo Lim Meng Keh H A RP Gulnara Mashurova Principal
Liu Chang Associate Principal Christoph Wichert Zhao Ying Xue CONTRAB AS 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. 1 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. 2 Chan Yoong-Han performs on a David Tecchler, Fecit Roma An. D. 1700 donated by Mr Goh Yew Lin. Musicians listed alphabetically by family name rotate their seats on a per programme basis.
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BAI BA S KRID E P LA YS M OZA RT | 1 & 2 DEC 2 0 2 1
FIRST VIOLIN Kong Zhao Hui Acting Concertmaster/ Associate Concertmaster Jin Li Kong Xianlong Cindy Lee William Tan Wei Zhe Zhang Si Jing SECOND VIOLIN Ye Lin Hai-Won Kwok Chikako Sasaki Shao Tao Tao Xu Jueyi Yeo Teow Meng
VIOLA Guan Qi Gu Bing Jie Marietta Ku Janice Tsai Yang Shi Li
FLUTE Evgueni Brokmiller
CELLO Ng Pei-Sian Chan Wei Shing Jamshid Saydikarimov Wu Dai Dai
CLARINET Ma Yue Tang Xiao Ping
DOUBLE BASS Yang Zheng Yi Wang Xu
9
OBOE Rachel Walker Carolyn Hollier
BASSOON Liu Chang Zhao Ying Xue HORN Gao Jian Jamie Hersch Hoang Van Hoc
B A I B A S KRI DE PL AYS M OZ AR T | 1 & 2 DE C 2021
Musicians
S S O SU PPO RT E RS
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BAIBA SKRIDE MOZART VIOLIN CONCERTOS 1-5
ALBUM SALE
$48
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AUTOGRAPHED BY THE ARTIST “MUSIC-MAKING SUCH AS THIS, WITH MORE THAN A SPLASH OF INDIVIDUALITY AND A PALPABLE RECREATIVE SPIRIT, IS WORTHY OF ANYONE’S ATTENTION” - GRAMOPHONE
I II III
Allegro Andante cantabile Rondeau. Andante grazioso exaggerated gavotte (a French folk dance) turns up halfway through, followed by a bagpipe dance complete with drones on the violin. Nevertheless, before the end, Mozart takes us back to his elegant style, as if returning to noble hallways of gilded mirrors after an afternoon of agricultural cosplaying.
While we tend to think of Mozart sitting at the piano, it is worth remembering that in his younger days he was as much a soloist on the violin as on the keyboard – unsurprising, when one recalls that his father Leopold was an important figure in the violin world. Composed in 1775, which saw the later four of his five violin concerti completed, Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 4 opens with a sharp arpeggiated fanfare before the soloist enters in its highest register, like a child play-marching and singing along to soldiers in parade. Though full of vigorous material, the Allegro reflects Mozart’s characteristic lightness and charm. The Andante cantabile is radiant and serene, evoking late summer afternoons in Salzburg, with the fading sunshine filtered through leafy canopies. After the orchestral introduction, the soloist takes centrestage, spinning singing melodies almost uninterrupted, exploring the entire range from bright higher strings to rich lower strings. In the 18th century there was a longing among European aristocrats for ‘the simple life’, resulting in the curious phenomenon of palace gardens seeing rustic cottages being constructed, in which the nobility would play at being farmers and shepherds, with domestic animals being brought in for their excellencies to milk and herd. One can only imagine what the actual servants thought of this. It is in this spirit that we may view the final Rondo, courtly and posed, where an
Instrumentation 2 oboes, 2 horns, strings World Premiere Unknown First performed by SSO 3 Jul 1981 (Yossi Zivoni, violin) 17
B A I B A S KRI DE PL AYS M OZ AR T | 1 & 2 DE C 2021
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756–1791) Violin Concerto No. 4 in D major, K.218 (1775)
BAIBA SK R IDE PL AYS M OZ AR T | 1 & 2 D E C 2 0 2 1
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K.550 (1788) I II III IV
Molto allegro Andante Menuetto and Trio. Allegretto Allegro assai in The Magic Flute. The Menuetto begins with an unusual hemiola – the melody is written as if the metre were 2/4, yet the accompaniment is in the correct 3/4! The result is a juggernaut’s momentum that drives us forward, dark and ferocious, with relief only at the Trio, where Mozart gives us uninterrupted major-key happiness from the horns and woodwinds before taking us back into a ride through the haunted house.
While D minor was Mozart’s choice for tragedy and darkness, his works in G minor reflect much of that same dark intensity. One of only two symphonies he wrote in a minor key, his 40th Symphony in G minor was composed in 1788, three years before his death. The exact date of its first performance is unknown, however there is a record of it being performed at the home of Mozart’s friend Baron Gottfried van Swieten, but so badly performed that Mozart had to leave the room.
With the final Allegro assai, Mozart returns to the storm, presenting contrasts of loud and soft balanced by strict form, but this boat is constantly rocked by furious runs from the violins. A happier second theme appears but is overtaken by an almost twelve-tone row chromatic turbulence that uses every note except G – the tonal centre of the work – before reappearing worse for wear in a minor key version. Tension builds and fireworks ensue, but anger – never. All through to the end, the maestro shows us he is always in control.
The famous first movement begins with the accompaniment figures before the actual main theme emerges, a technique that became popular later among Romantic composers. Tension prevails, perhaps a reflection of Mozart’s situation – his concerts were becoming less popular, bills were piling up due to his extravagant lifestyle, his family had moved to the suburbs after vacating their central Vienna apartment, and his infant daughter Theresia had died that year. Still, Mozart is not one to wallow, and the movement has moments of happiness and grace amidst the turbulent waves.
Programme notes by Edward C. Yong
An elegant, major-key Andante follows, giving us a respite of quiet moonlit serenity, punctuated with chromatic intensity. The instruments take turns in a magical conversation that goes from hushed awe to tenderness and pity, giving us a glimpse into a world that was to be developed further 18
B A I B A S KRI D E PL AYS M OZ AR T | 1 & 2 DE C 2021
Mozart Directing His Requiem On His Deathbed by Mihaly Munkacsy
Instrumentation flute, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, strings World Premiere Unknown First performed by SSO 2 Jun 1980 19
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS Yong Ying-I (Deputy Chair) Chang Chee Pey Chng Hak-Peng Chng Kai Fong Prof Arnoud De Meyer Warren Fernandez Liew Wei Li Sanjiv Misra Prof Qin Li-Wei Paul Tan Geoffrey Wong Yee Chen Fah Andrew Yeo Khirn Hin Yasmin Zahid
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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.