CONCERT PROGRAMME MAY 2022
ELGAR CELLO CONCERTO AND NEW WORLD SYMPHONY BEETHOVEN’S FIFTH AND WUTHERING HEIGHTS
May 2022 ELGAR CELLO CONCERTO AND NEW WORLD SYMPHONY
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6 May 2022, Fri Esplanade Concert Hall
BEETHOVEN’S FIFTH AND WUTHERING HEIGHTS 13 May 2022, Fri Esplanade Concert Hall
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T Pre-concert Talk, library@esplanade 13 May, 6.30pm-7pm Registration required, details on SSO website.
For the enjoyment of all patrons during the concert: • Please switch off or silence all electronic devices. • Please minimise noises during performance. If unavoidable, wait for a loud section in the music. • No photography, video or audio recording is allowed when artists are performing. • Non-flash photography is allowed only during bows and applause when no performance is taking place. Go green. Digital programme books are available on www.sso.org.sg. Photographs and videos will be taken at these events, in which you may appear. These may be published on the SSO’s publicity channels and materials. By attending the event, you consent to the use of these photographs and videos for the foregoing purposes.
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.
B E E TH OV EN’ S FIFTH AND W U TH ER ING H EIG H TS | 13 MAY 2 0 2 2
© ALBERTO VENZAGO
ELG A R CELLO CO N C E R TO AN D N E W WO RLD SY MP H ON Y | 6 M A Y 2022
In the season 2021/22, Venzago will conduct the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Copenhagen Philharmonic, and Tampere Philharmonic Orchestras, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, Staatskapelle Halle, Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie RheinlandPfalz and many others.
M A R I O V E N Z AG O conductor Mario Venzago has been the Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of the Bern Symphony Orchestra until summer 2021, for 11 years. Prior to this, he was Principal Conductor or General Music Director of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Basque National Orchestra, Basel Symphony Orchestra, the Graz Opera and Graz Philharmonic Orchestra, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Frankfurt (now Bremen), Theatre and Philharmonic Orchestra of the City of Heidelberg and the Musikkollegium Winterthur.
Several of his CDs have won international prizes such as the Grand Prix du Disque, the Diapason d’or and the Edison Award. His recordings of the operas Venus and Penthesilea and of all choral works by Othmar Schoeck with the MDR choir and Symphony Orchestra received great international recognition, as did his first film, “My Brother the Conductor” by Alberto Venzago, which was shown in cinemas across Europe and released on DVD. The project “The other Bruckner” with the recording of all ten symphonies, whose individual releases were acclaimed by international critics, was released on the CPO label. A collaboration with Sony Classical led to the spectacular recording of Schubert’s “Unfinished” Symphony with the Kammerorchester Basel, completed and conducted by Mario Venzago, and the recording of all serenades and symphonies of Brahms. The most recent CD projects have been recordings of Othmar Schoeck’s opera Schloss Dürande in a new version with the Berner Symphonieorchester and the cantata “Vom Fischer und syner Fru” with the Musikkollegium Winterthur, both on the Claves label.
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ELG A R CELLO C ONC ER TO AND NEW W OR L D SYM PH ONY | 6 MA Y 2022
D A N I E L M Ü L L E R-SC HOTT cello Daniel Müller-Schott is one of the most sought-after cellists in the world. For many years he has been enchanting audiences as an ambassador for classical music and as a bridge builder between music and the visual arts. The New York Times refers to his “intensive expressiveness” and describes him as a “fearless player with technique to burn”.
© UWE ARENS
Besides the main cello concertos from the Baroque to the modern era, Daniel has a special interest in discovering unknown works and extending the cello repertoire with his own transcriptions and through cooperation with contemporary composers. Daniel Müller-Schott has performed worldwide with numerous renowned orchestras and conductors. International music festivals regularly invite Daniel including the London Proms, the Schubertiade, Schleswig-Holstein, Rheingau, Schwetzingen, the Heidelberg Spring Festival and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, where the cellist appeared as Artistic Director in 2019; and in the USA, festivals in Tanglewood, Ravinia, Bravo! Vail and the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.
Daniel Müller-Schott's acclaimed discography comes from a career spanning 25 years under the ORFEO, Deutsche Grammophon, Hyperion, Pentatone and Warner labels. Daniel studied under Walter Nothas, Heinrich Schiff and Steven Isserlis. He was supported personally by Anne-Sophie Mutter and received the Aida Stucki Prize as well as a year of private tuition under Mstislaw Rostropovich. At age 15, he won the first prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians in 1992 in Moscow. Daniel plays the “Ex Shapiro” Matteo Goffriller cello, Venice, 1727.
In chamber music, Daniel collaborates inter alia with Nicholas Angelich, Kit Armstrong, Renaud Capuçon, Xavier de Maistre, Julia Fischer, Daniel Hope, Igor Levit, Sabine Meyer, Nils Mönkemeyer, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Francesco Piemontesi, Lauma and Baiba Skride, Emmanuel Tjeknavorian, Simon Trpčeski with the Ebene Quartet. 5
B E E TH OV EN’ S FIFTH AND W U TH ER ING H EIG H TS | 1 3 MAY 2 0 2 2
and Noemie (Cendrillon) for the Stadttheater Klagenfurt, Witch / Dido and Aeneas Opéra de Luxembourg, Cupid (Rossi’s Orfeo) Royal Opera House at the Globe Theatre, Poppea (Agrippina) for Brisbane Baroque, Flavia (Lucio Silla) for International HändelFestspiele Göttingen, Amore (Orfeo ed Euridice) for Bregenz Landestheater, Venus and Adonis, Atalanta (Xerxes) both with the Early Opera Company and Clio / Parnasso in Festa for the London Handel Festival, Angel (It’s a Wonderful Life) for English National Opera and Barbarina (Le Nozze di Figaro) for the Glyndebourne Tour. Other past and future concert highlights include Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Elijah / City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Mahler Symphony No. 8 / Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Acis and Galatea with the Bach Akademie Stuttgart and with the Royal Concertgebouw Orkest, Mozart Requiem, Fauré Requiem and Messiah / Royal Festival Hall. A keen recitalist, Keri has performed at various venues including the Wigmore Hall and The Forge in Camden with the Berlioz Society.
K ER I F U G E soprano Keri Fuge studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama from 2008-2010 where she received a Master of Music in Vocal Studies and Performance with Marilyn Rees. She is an alumna of The National Opera Studio 2012-2013 sponsored by The Glyndebourne New Generation Programme. Her study is supported by The Tillett Trust, The Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation, The Mario Lanza Trust, and The Stapley Trust.
Keri was a semi-finalist in the Kathleen Ferrier Competition 2013, a Britten-Pears Young Artist Scholar (2011), winner of Michael Oliver Prize in The London Handel Competition (2011), the Dame Anne Evans’ Most Promising Singer (2009) and the Hampshire Singer of the Year (2008).
Recent and future opera engagements include Philidell / A Nymph / Honour (King Arthur) and Créuse (Médée) for the Grand Théâtre de Génève, Zerlina (Don Giovanni) 6
B EET H O V EN ’S FIFTH AND W U TH ER ING H EIG H TS | 13 MA Y 2022
R O D E RI CK W I L L I AMS baritone
© BENJAMIN EALOVEGA
Roderick Williams is one of the most sought-after baritones of his generation. He performs a wide repertoire from baroque to contemporary music and is in demand as a recitalist worldwide. He was Artistic Director of the Leeds Lieder Festival in April 2016, and Artist in Residence for the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra from 2020/21 for two seasons. He enjoys relationships with all the major UK opera houses and has sung opera world premieres by David Sawer, Sally Beamish, Michel van der Aa, Robert Saxton and Alexander Knaifel. Recent and future engagements include the title role in Eugene Onegin for Garsington, the title role in Billy Budd with Opera North, Papageno for Covent Garden, and productions with Cologne Opera, English National Opera and Netherlands Opera.
festival appearances include the BBC Proms (including the Last Night in 2014), Edinburgh, Cheltenham, Bath, Aldeburgh and Melbourne Festivals. Roderick has an extensive discography. He is a composer and has had works premiered at the Wigmore and Barbican Halls, the Purcell Room and live on national radio. In December 2016 he won the best choral composition at the British Composer Awards. From 2022/23 season he takes the position of Composer in Association of the BBC Singers. He recently completed a threeyear odyssey of the Schubert song cycles culminating in performances at the Wigmore Hall and has subsequently recorded them for Chandos.
Roderick sings regularly with all the BBC orchestras and all the major UK orchestras, as well as the Berlin, London and New York Philharmonic Orchestras, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Cincinnati Symphony, London Symphony and Bach Collegium Japan amongst others. His many 7
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
FIRS T VI OL I N (Position vacant) Concertmaster, GK Goh Chair Stanislav Pronin^ (13 May) Guest Concertmaster 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 Lim Shue Churn^ (6 May) Karen Tan William Tan Wei Zhe Ye Lin* Yew Shan^ (13 May) Zhang Si Jing*
Michael Loh Associate Principal Sherzod Abdiev^ (6 May) Nikolai Koval* Hai-Won Kwok Chikako Sasaki* Margit Saur Edward Tan^ (6 May) Shao Tao Tao Wu Man Yun* Xu Jueyi* Helena Dawn Yah^ (13 May) Yeo Teow Meng Yew Shan^ (6 May) Yin Shu Zhan* Zhao Tian* VIO L A Manchin Zhang Principal Guan Qi Associate Principal Gu Bing Jie* Fixed Chair Joelle Min Hsu^ (6 & 13 May) Marietta Ku Luo Biao Julia Park Shui Bing Janice Tsai Dandan Wang Yang Shi Li Yeo Jan Wea^ (6 & 13 May) C EL L O Ng Pei-Sian Principal, The HEAD Foundation Chair Yu Jing Associate Principal Guo Hao Fixed Chair Chan Wei Shing Khachatur Khachatryan^ (6 & 13 May) Lin Juan^ (6 May) Liu Jiaqi^ (13 May) Jamshid Saydikarimov Song Woon Teng Wang Yan Wu Dai Dai Zhao Yu Er
D OUBLE BAS S
B A SSO O N
Yang Zheng Yi Associate Principal Karen Yeo Fixed Chair Olga Alexandrova Julian Li Yongrui^ (6 May) Ma Li Ming^ (6 May) Jacek Mirucki Guennadi Mouzyka Wang Xu
Liu Chang Associate Principal Christoph Wichert Zhao Ying Xue
FLUTE
Gao Jian Associate Principal Jamie Hersch Associate Principal Marc-Antoine Robillard Associate Principal Hoang Van Hoc Bryan Chong^ (13 May) Alexander Oon^ (6 & 13 May)
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 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
CO N T R A B A S S OON Zhao Ying Xue Assistant Principal H O RN
TR U M P ET Jon Paul Dante Principal David Smith Associate Principal Lau Wen Rong TR O M B O N E Allen Meek Principal Damian Patti Associate Principal Samuel Armstrong B A SS T R O MBONE Wang Wei Assistant Principal TU B A Tomoki Natsume Principal
TIMPANI Christian Schiøler Principal PE RCUS SI ON Jonathan Fox Principal Mark Suter Associate Principal Mario Choo Lim Meng Keh HARP Gulnara Mashurova Principal Charmaine Teo^ (13 May) E LE CTRIC OR GAN Liu Jia^ (13 May)
* With deep appreciation to the Rin Collection for their generous loan of string instruments. ^ Guest musician 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, courtesy of Mr G K Goh. Musicians listed alphabetically by family name rotate their seats on a per programme basis.
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E L G AR C E L L O C ONC ER TO AND NEW W OR L D SYM PH ONY | 6 MAY 2 0 2 2
E LGA R CELLO CO N C ERTO AN D NEW WORLD SY M PH O N Y DA W N O F A N E W W O R L D 6 May 2022, Fri Esplanade Concert Hall Singapore Symphony Orchestra Mario Venzago conductor Daniel Müller-Schott cello*
S IB E L I U S
Finlandia, Op. 26
ELG AR
Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85*
30 mins
Intermission
20 mins
Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95 “From The New World”
40 mins
D VO ŘÁK
8 mins
Concert Duration: approximately 2 hrs (with 20 mins intermission)
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The heartfelt and mighty “Finlandia Hymn” from the tone poem Finlandia is widely acknowledged as Finland's second national anthem. In its original form, Finlandia was called “Finland Awakes” - the finale of seven pieces performed as a musical backdrop to a series of tableaux depicting scenes from Finnish history. These were part of a “Press Celebrations” event – in fact, a thinly disguised nationalistic protest against increasingly authoritarian control from the Russian Empire, which Finland was subject to until her independence in 1917.
Jean Sibelius by Tuomas Ikonen www.tuomasikonen.com (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Finlandia became a world favourite, much to the surprise of the composer, as he did not consider it representative of his art. The hymn continues to be sung in all manner of arrangements and words today. ‘It is not intended to be sung,’ Sibelius lamented. ‘It is written for an orchestra. But if the world wants to sing it, it can't be helped.’ Sibelius did not have to worry, for today his music is a musical beacon of Finnish national identity. Oi Suomi, katso, sinun päiväs koittaa. Finland, behold – your day is dawning.
With slight revisions and subsequent performances the following year, this piece quickly became the musical symbol of Finnish nationalism. To avoid Russian crackdown, it was performed under alternative names at various concerts, from the inconspicuous “Impromptu” to an unpretentious “A Scandinavian Choral March” to the frivolous “Happy Feelings at the awakening of Finnish Spring”. In 1901, it was given its final name, Finlandia. A threatening chorale of brass oppresses the suffering strings and woodwinds. Finland struggles under the yoke of domination. But Finnish sisu – resilience, stoic determination, courage and grit - soon surge to the surface. The Finns cast aside their chains and Finlandia is born. The inspirational ardour of this galvanising music coupled with this magnificent central hymn ensured Sibelius’s fame for posterity.
Instrumentation 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, cymbals, bass drum, triangle, strings World Premiere 2 Jul 1900, Helsinki First performed by SSO 23 Feb 1979 13
ELG A R CELLO C ONC ER TO AND NEW W OR L D SYM PH ONY | 6 MA Y 2022
JEAN SIBELIUS (1865–1957) Finlandia, Op. 26 (1899)
E L G AR C E L L O C ONC ER TO AND NEW W OR L D SYM PH ONY | 6 MAY 2 0 2 2
EDWARD ELGAR (1857–1934) Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85 (1919) I II III IV
Adagio – Moderato Lento – Allegro molto Adagio Allegro – Moderato – Allegro, ma non troppo
In 1918, the British composer Sir Edward William Elgar was, along with the rest of Europe, shattered by the Great War that had just ended – the state of affairs inherited from the 19th century had been altered permanently and beyond belief. On top of this, his wife Alice was suffering from lung cancer. Out of this specific time of despair came a work that ranks among the most timeless – the Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85.
be the couple’s last together, spent in the Sussex countryside, and we see the peaceful summer afternoon sunshine in the music. All parties must end, and the final movement reminds us of that. Though traditionally a light and cheery form, Elgar gives us a wistfully sad but powerful rondo. Alice was by Elgar’s side at the premiere in October 1919, but died the following April. Along with her, something of Elgar’s creativity died, and he wrote nothing of major consequence till his death. Perhaps later in life, he looked back to happier days and relived them, the way the cello solo reprises the anguish from the opening movement before the concerto ends.
Unlike most concerti, which have an orchestral introduction, this begins with an Adagio played intensely on the solo cello, so intensely sorrowful that one hardly notices the orchestral accompaniment which appears at first almost like sympathetic resonance. With the moderato, the solo continues playing, searching futilely, like a man desperately grabbing whatever comes to hand in a darkened room, almost all through the movement. Its personal, intense, and intimate pain supported by various combinations of instruments, with only the barest punctuations by the whole orchestra. The movement concludes with a scherzo that starts slow but builds sinister momentum.
Instrumentation 2 flutes (one doubling on piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, strings
The Adagio brings us closer to Elgar’s signature serene style, with a long Romantic melody spun out on a grand scale, passionate radiance settling into prayerful serenity. The happy summer of 1919 was to
World Premiere 27 Oct 1919, London First performed by SSO 12 Jan 1990 (Raphael Wallfisch, cello) 14
I II III IV
Adagio – Allegro molto Largo Molto vivace Allegro con fuoco
While being one of the most popularly performed symphonies, Dvořák’s New World Symphony is a bit of an unexpected work. The Czech composer Antonín Dvořák grounded his own music in Czech folk tradition, and yet produced one of the most iconic pieces of “American” music. How did this happen?
and Black music, he studied both. While he relied on published editions of “Native Indian” music (filtered through the ears of white editors), he managed to hear black music closer to the source, even getting a black conservatory student to sing and play for him. Started in late 1892 and finished in May 1893, the result was a composition that was a major triumph from its first performance on 16 December 1893.
“Dvořák grounded his own music in Czech folk tradition, and yet produced one of the most iconic pieces of “American” music.”
While utilising no actual themes from American music, Dvořák consciously modelled his melodies on American ones – the flute solo in the first movement is suspiciously like the Black spiritual Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. The heart of the symphony is the Largo second movement, where the principal theme, presented on cor anglais, evokes nostalgia and tenderness. Dvořák said this movement, later performed at the funerals of presidents Roosevelt and Ford, was inspired by Minnehaha’s funeral scene in Longfellow’s Song of Hiawatha. It sounds almost like a folk song, and indeed a set of words Goin’ Home was later attached to it.
In 1892, Dvořák arrived in New York on the invitation of Jeanette Thurber, wife of a millionaire green-grocer and a patroness of the arts, to take up a post at the National Conservatory, recently founded by Thurber in an attempt to create a distinctly ‘American’ musical voice. Paid 25 times his previous salary, Dvořák was able to spend the next nine months teaching, researching, and composing. Convinced the ‘authentic’ voice of American music lay in Native Indian
The scherzo third movement was allegedly inspired by Native Indian dance rituals from the Song of Hiawatha, but musically is thoroughly Bohemian. The final movement with the march theme seems to bring us back to Central Europe, veering as it does between moments of Brahms and Wagner. 15
ELG A R CELLO C ONC ER TO AND NEW W OR L D SYM PH ONY | 6 MA Y 2022
ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK (1841–1904) Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95 “From The New World” (1893)
E L G AR C E L L O C ONC ER TO AND NEW W OR L D SYM PH ONY | 6 MAY 2 0 2 2
Title page of the autograph score of Dvořák’s New World Symphony
The development brings us material from the previous movements, giving us a recap of what went before, but Dvořák has one last surprise up his sleeve. Right before the final chords, there is a brief walking bass that to modern ears sounds unmistakably like ragtime. Had Dvořák even managed to hear the jazz movement in its infancy? Programme notes by Chia Han-Leon (Sibelius) and Edward C. Yong (Elgar, Dvořák)
Instrumentation 2 flutes (one doubling on piccolo), 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, cymbals, triangle, strings World Premiere 16 Dec 1893, New York First performed by SSO 23 Aug 1979 16
13 May 2022, Fri Esplanade Concert Hall Singapore Symphony Orchestra Mario Venzago conductor Keri Fuge soprano* Roderick Williams baritone*
B EET H O V E N
H ER RM AN N
Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67
31 mins
Intermission
20 mins
Suite on Wuthering Heights for soprano, baritone and orchestra* WORLD PREMIERE
62 mins
Concert Duration: approximately 2 hrs 10 mins (with 20 mins intermission) T Pre-concert Talk, library@esplanade. Registration required, details on SSO website.
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B EET H O V EN ’S FIFTH AND W U TH ER ING H EIG H TS | 13 MA Y 2022
B E ETHOVEN ’S F I F TH AND W UTHERI N G H EI G H TS
B E E TH OV EN’ S FIFTH AND W U TH ER ING H EIG H TS | 1 3 MAY 2 0 2 2
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770–1827) Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 (1807) I II III IV
Allegro con brio Andante con moto Scherzo. Allegro – Trio Allegro – Presto In the Scherzo the basses creep in, joined by the higher strings, and the horns cross their path with their own loud, insistent version of fate. These alternate until the scene changes to the key of C major, marking the start of the Trio section. When the scherzo returns, it is quieter before with the strings plucking instead of bowing.
When novelist E.M. Forster wrote Howard’s End around 1908, recordings or the radio had not been invented; one can only imagine how few times Forster heard the work. Yet, it left an indelible impression on him that it he used its movements to structure the novel’s plot. He opens his fifth chapter with the high praise “... that Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is the most sublime noise that has ever penetrated into the ear of man. All sorts and conditions are satisfied by it.”
Timpani rolls set an atmosphere of expectancy, with a sustained chord in the winds and an insistent tremolo in the strings until the music bursts forth in an explosion of brilliance in C major from brasses, announcing the triumphant Allegro – Presto. “Beethoven chose to make all right in the end”, Forster writes, affirming the victory with fifty-four bars of pure C major music and destroying any shadow of doubt.
Beethoven described the opening rhythm as “fate knocking at the door”. This rhythm is heard throughout the symphony in various guises through its four movements. In the Allegro con brio, fate knocks in almost every bar. Beethoven builds up the intensity as the music develops, and then suddenly time stops for a moment: everything freezes and an unaccompanied oboe plays a quasi-cadenza before it is business as usual with the recapitulation.
Instrumentation 2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, strings
The Andante con moto follows a loose theme and variations form. In the more muted key of A-flat major, the first theme is introduced by lower strings, and the second, by the woodwind choir and higher strings. Just when one thinks that the music will end quietly, Beethoven builds up hype to an almost-military ending, all while staying on an A-flat chord.
World Premiere 22 Dec 1808, Vienna First performed by SSO 4 Dec 1981 18
Best known as an Academy Award-winning composer who had a long-standing partnership with filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock, Bernard Herrmann wrote music for iconic movies such as Vertigo and Psycho and was a master of foreshadowing drama in the movies with musical themes.
put together in 2011 by Hans Sørensen, currently Director of Artistic Planning at the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. Tonight’s performance is the suite’s world premiere, which will subsequently be recorded and released by Chandos Records.
“Wuthering Heights is in fact, a tormented tale of revenge, ending with a glimmer of consolation, as the wuthering winds soften for the sleepers in the quiet earth.”
By the time of his untimely death in 1975, he was a well-known conductor and an award-winning film score composer, leaving behind, along with his legacy, his magnum opus: an unpremiered and largely unknown 3.5-hour-long opera Wuthering Heights based on Emily Brontë’s novel. The story of Wuthering Heights is often described as a tragic love story. The orphan boy Heathcliff is adopted by the owner of Wuthering Heights, a house in the moors of Yorkshire. Heathcliff initially enjoys life in his new family, but gradually loses his privileges. Heathcliff eventually leaves Wuthering Heights and returns years later to get even. Wuthering Heights is in fact, a tormented tale of revenge, ending with a glimmer of consolation, as the wuthering winds soften for the sleepers in the quiet earth.
Written for an orchestral force that could rival Wagner’s, the story is told through the characters of Heathcliff and Cathy, the libretto consists of text directly from the book and some of Brontë’s poetry. Deliberately teeming with 19th century sentence construction and social restrictions, it leaves the music to describe what the text leaves out. The music puts the emotional tension and complex relationship between them at the forefront, as well as sets the scenes to
The suite presented for this concert starts from the first note of the opera and ends on its last note. It retains all highlights in the opera featuring Heathcliff and Cathy, and none of Herrmann’s original music has been altered. The great American conductor Leopold Stokowski asked Herrmann several times to make a suite from the opera, but he never managed to. This suite was 19
B EET H O V EN ’S FIFTH AND W U TH ER ING H EIG H TS | 13 MA Y 2022
BERNARD HERRMANN (1911–1975) Suite on Wuthering Heights for soprano, baritone and orchestra (1946–1951) WORLD PREMIERE
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propel the story forward, from depicting the solitary house on the hill and raging storms; the beauty of the wild moor in midsummer from afternoon to sunset.
IX. Death of Cathy. Molto moderato e molto tranquillo. “I shall not leave you. You are my soul.” (Cathy) X. Allegro feroce. “May she wake in torment!” “Haunt me then! Be with me always!” (Heathcliff)
As with his film music, all of Herrmann’s trademarks are present: stormy dissonances, repeated concise motifs, colourful orchestration, and above all, a harmonic language that borders on atonality but never strays from its romantic and tonal origins.
XI. Lento molto sostenuto e tempestoso. The storm breaks forth in full fury. Heathcliff gazes at Cathy's body. XII. Adagio (tenebroso). Darkness engulfs the hall, except for the figures of Heathcliff and Cathy, illuminated by a strange glow from the windows.“Heathcliff! Heathcliff Let me in.” (Cathy)
Programme notes by Natalie Ng I. Prologue. The Snow and Wind - “O Cathy, come in” (Heathcliff)
XIII. Molto appassionato. “Oh Cathy! Come in, Oh come in!” (Heathcliff, calling out into the storm)
II. Act I scene I. Allegretto pastorale. Twenty years ago, 1840. Main hall of Wuthering Heights. Through the windows, the moors are seen glowing in the summer. “I have been wandering through the green woods” (Cathy & Heathcliff)
XIV. Adagio tenebroso. Heathcliff sinks broken and desperate beside the window, hopelessly searching out into the storm. Only the windows remain radiantly white with the swirling snow.
III. Moderato. Sunset. “Do you remember the day you first came to Wuthering Heights?” (Cathy) IV. Lento tranquillo. “Look, the moon. How it smiles with love and light” (Cathy & Heathcliff) V. Interlude: Nocturne VI. Act I scene II. Adagio con molto espressivo e triste. “I am the only being whose doom no tongue would ask, no eye would mourn.” (Heathcliff)
Instrumentation 3 flutes (1 doubling on piccolo), 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, tam-tam, bass drum, triangle, crotales, glockenspiel, 2 harps, organ, strings
VII. Act II. Adagio tranquillo. The sky darkens, a thunder-storm comes. “I have dreamt in my life dreams that have stayed with me forever” (Cathy) VIII. Act IV. Meditation. Andante con malinconia. A light snow begins to fall. “Heathcliff, Heathcliff, you have broken my heart” (Cathy & Heathcliff)
World Premiere of opera 6 Nov 1982 20
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S S O SU PPO RT E RS
A Standing Ovation To Our Donor Patrons We would like to express our deepest appreciation to the following individuals and organisations who support our mission to create memorable shared experiences with music in the past year. Without your support, it would be impossible for the SSO to continue to strive for artistic excellence and touch the hearts of audiences.
PATR ON SPONSOR Tote Board Group (Tote Board, Singapore Pools & Singapore Turf Club)
MAE STR O C IR C L E Mr & Mrs Goh Yew Lin Stephen Riady Group of Foundations Temasek Foundation The HEAD Foundation
C ONC E R TMASTE R C IR C LE Ho Ching Yong Hon Kong Foundation
SYMPHONY C IR C L E In Memory of SH Chng Prof Arnoud De Meyer Dr & Mrs Antoine & Christina Firmenich Rod Hyland John Swire & Sons (S.E. Asia) Pte Ltd Lee Foundation The New Eden Charitable Trust
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Raymond Quah Gilbert R Dr Julia Raiskin Robert Khan & Co Pte Ltd Audrey Ruyters Danai Sae-Han Omar Slim Marcel Smit & Hanneke Verbeek Alex Soh & Jimmy Koh Soh Leng Wan Casey Tan Khai Hee Tan Cheng Guan Dr Tan Chin Nam Gordon HL Tan Joanne Tan Tan Lian Yok Tan Pei Jie Tan Yee Deng Tang See Chim Tee Linda David Teng Valerie Thean Jessie Thng Toby & Margit Mario Van de Meulen Manju & Arudra Vangal Amanda Walujo Nicole Wang Remes Valerie Wu Peichan Ivan Yeo Lillian Yin Yong Seow Kin The Yong Family Yasmin Zahid Zhang Zheng Anonymous (37)
This list reflects donations that were made from 1 Apr 2021 to 31 Mar 2022. We would like to express our sincere thanks to donors whose names were inadvertently left out at print time. The Singapore Symphony Group is a charity and a not-for-profit organisation. Singapore tax-payers may qualify for 250% tax deduction for donations made. You can support us by donating at www.sso.org.sg/donate or www.giving.sg/sso.
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20 MAY – 5 JUN
THE ANATOMY OF PERFORMANCE – RITUAL
THE ONCE AND FUTURE
by Yeo Siew Hua (Singapore) featuring members of the Berliner Philharmoniker (Germany) A unique collaboration between one of Singapore’s leading filmmakers and one of the world’s greatest orchestras, this expanded cinema experience, set in the not-so-distant future, contemplates the human journey as humanity looks towards planetary exodus to escape extinction.
3 – 4 JUN, FRI – SAT, 8PM 4 – 5 JUN, SAT – SUN, 2PM ESPLANADE THEATRE $58*, $68, $88 *Limited concessions available for students, NSFs and seniors
1h15m, no intermission Rating to be determined Recommended for audiences age 18 and above. Performed in English. The filmic aspects of the work contain mature themes
BOOK NOW AT SIFA.SG
28 MAY 2022 7.30PM 29 MAY 2022 5PM SOTA CONCERT HALL ORCHESTRA OF THE MUSIC MAKERS Joshua Kangming Tan conductor
Antonín Dvořák Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104
Sergei Rachmaninov Symphony No. 2 in E Minor. Op. 27
Tickets available from $18 via SISTIC. Concessions and group discounts available.
BOA R D OF D IRE C T ORS & C OMMI T T E E S CHAIR Goh Yew Lin SSO COUNCIL
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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Yee Chen Fah (Chair) Warren Fernandez Lim Mei Jovi Seet
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S S O M U S I C I A N S’ C O M M I T T E E Mario Choo Guo Hao David Smith Wang Xu Christoph Wichert Elaine Yeo Zhao Tian
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SIN G A P OR E S Y MP HO N Y G ROUP M A N AG E ME N T CHIEF E XECUTIVE OFFICER Chng Hak-Peng ARTISTIC PL ANNING
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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.