S IN G A P OR E SY MPHON Y ORC HE S T R A
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Nov 2023 BUTTERFLY LOVERS VIOLIN CONCERTO Fri & Sat, 10 & 11 Nov 2023 Victoria Concert Hall
CHOPIN AND BEETHOVEN BRUCE LIU AND JUKKA-PEKKA SARASTE
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Thu & Fri, 23 & 24 Nov 2023 Victoria Concert Hall
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. 1
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SING APOR E SYM PH ONY O RCH ES T RA
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 with its 44-week calendar of events. 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 through its school programmes. 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. In 2022, BBC Music Magazine named the SSO as one of the 21 best orchestras in the world. In July 2022, the SSO appointed renowned Austrian conductor Hans Graf as its Music Director, the third in the orchestra’s history after Lan Shui (1997– 2019) and Choo Hoey (1979–1996). Prior to this, Hans Graf served as Chief Conductor from 2020. 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. The SSO makes its performing home at the 1,800-seat state-of-theart 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. Beyond Singapore, 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 fivecity 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 praise in major UK newspapers The Guardian and The Telegraph. The SSO has also performed in China on multiple occasions. The SSO has released more than 50 recordings, with over 30 on the BIS label. Recent critically acclaimed albums include Herrmann’s Wuthering Heights (Chandos) and Scriabin - Poems of Ecstasy and Fire (BIS). Following the Four Seasons album on Pentatone, a complete Mozart Violin Concerto cycle with Chloe Chua and Hans Graf will be released in 2024. The SSO also leads the revival and recording of significant works such as Kozłowski’s Requiem, Ogerman’s Symbiosis (after Bill Evans) and violin concertos by Robert Russell Bennett and Vernon Duke. 2
The SSO has collaborated with such great artists as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Gustavo Dudamel, Charles Dutoit, Joe Hisaishi, Neeme Järvi, Okko Kamu, Hannu Lintu, Andrew Litton, Lorin Maazel, Martha Argerich, Ray Chen, Diana Damrau, Stephen Hough, Janine Jansen, Leonidas Kavakos, Lang Lang, Yo-Yo Ma, Gil Shaham and Krystian Zimerman. The SSO is part of the Singapore Symphony Group, which also manages the Singapore Symphony Choruses, and the Singapore National Youth Orchestra, as well as the VCHpresents chamber music series, the Singapore International Piano Festival and the biennial National Piano & Violin Competition.
Our Story
Singapore Symphony Orchestra The Group’s vision is to be a leading arts organization that engages, inspires and reflects Singapore through musical excellence. Our mission 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. 3
BU TTER FL Y L OV ER S V IOL IN C ONC ER TO | 10 & 1 1 N O V 2 0 2 3
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In 2023, Barráez was awarded the 1st & Orchestra Prize at the 2nd Hong Kong International Conducting Competition. He also won 1st Prize at the 2018 Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México International Conducting Competition (OFUNAM), and 2nd Prize at the 2020 Inaugural SiemensHallé International Conductor Competition in Manchester, leading to immediate invitations with The Hallé.
R O D O L F O B ARRÁ E Z Associate Conductor Berlin-based Venezuelan conductor Rodolfo Barráez made his debut with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin in 2020. A natural communicator with infectious charisma, Rodolfo brings remarkable vivacity, sensitivity, and zeal to his artistry. The 2022-23 season sees him join the Singapore Symphony Orchestra as Associate Conductor, as well as the Los Angeles Philharmonic as Conducting Fellow. Rodolfo is also Conductor in Residence at the Paris Opera.
He completed his Bachelor’s and Master’s conducting studies at Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin, and previously his Bachelor’s at the National Experimental University of the Arts in Venezuela. In 2022, he was selected as Conducting Fellow at the Verbier Festival. Rodolfo made his debut with Los Angeles Philharmonic in early 2023 at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Future highlights include performances with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, RTVE Symphony Orchestra, Gävle Symphony Orchestra, Simón Bolívar Symphony, among others. Strongly influenced by his own remarkable education as part of El Sistema under the guidance of José Antonio Abreu and Teresa Hernández, Rodolfo is committed to contributing to music education. In 2019, Rodolfo founded the Falcón Conducting Workshop; an organization that nurtures and supports the development of emerging conductors through masterclasses and workshops in his hometown as well as worldwide at renowned institutions.
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C H LO E CH U A violin/Artist-In-Residence
The young star from Singapore has also garnered the top prize at the 24th Andrea Postacchini Violin Competition, 3rd prize at the 2017 Zhuhai International Mozart Competition, as well as accolades at the Thailand International Strings Competition (Junior Category Grand Prize) and the Singapore National Piano & Violin Competition (1st Prize, Junior 2017, 3rd Prize, Junior 2015).
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Chloe Chua (b. 2007) shot to international stardom after winning the joint 1st Prize at the 2018 Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists.
Symphony Orchestra for a second season, performing several concerts and recording projects across 2023 and 2024. Her debut album of The Four Seasons and Locatelli’s Harmonic Labyrinth will be followed by a set of complete Mozart Violin Concertos with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and Hans Graf.
Her stunning musicality despite her young age has captured the hearts of audiences around the world, and her performances have taken her to concert halls and orchestras across the U.S.A., U.K., Italy, Germany, Saudi Arabia, China, Thailand and Singapore, in festivals such as the Copenhagen Summer Festival, New Virtuosi Queenswood Mastercourse, Atlanta Festival Academy and the Singapore Violin Festival.
Chloe has been with Singapore’s Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) School of Young Talents since age 4, and is currently under the tutelage of Yin Ke, leader of their strings programme. Chloe performs on a Giovanni Battista Guadagnini, Milan, 1753, on generous loan from the Rin Collection.
For the 2023/24 season, Chloe extends her Artist-In-Residency at the Singapore 5
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and is internationally celebrated for his interpretations of Mahler. In April 2022, Saraste was named as Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. He began his tenure in summer 2023. From 2010 to 2019, he served as Chief Conductor of the WDR Sinfonieorchester in Cologne. Previously, Saraste was Music Director of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra and was subsequently appointed Conductor Laureate. He is also a founding member of the LEAD! Foundation, a mentorship programme for young conductors and soloists based in Finland. Saraste’s guest engagements have led him to the major orchestras worldwide. In recent years, he has developed a strong profile in opera, following concert performances of Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex, Schönberg’s Erwartung, Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle and many others.
J U K K A-PE K K A SAR ASTE conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste has established himself as one of the outstanding conductors of his generation, demonstrating remarkable musical depth and integrity. Born in Heinola, Finland, he began his career as a violinist before training as a conductor with Jorma Panula at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. An artist of exceptional versatility and breadth and renowned for his objective approach, he feels a special affinity with the sound and style of late Romantic music. He maintains a particularly strong connection to the works of Beethoven, Bruckner, Shostakovich, Stravinsky and Sibelius
His extensive discography includes the complete symphonies of Sibelius and Nielsen with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and a number of critically acclaimed recordings with Toronto Symphony Orchestra. His recordings with the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln with works by Mahler, Schönberg, Stravinsky, Brahms, Bruckner, and the complete symphonies of Beethoven, have received widespread acknowledgement. 6
In the 2022/23 season, Liu performed recitals at Carnegie Hall (Stern Hall), Konzerthaus Wien, Liederhalle Stuttgart, Seoul Arts Center, Suntory Hall, and with orchestras such as the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Wiener Symphoniker, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, and Danish National Symphony Orchestra. He also performed at festivals including Hong Kong Arts Festival, la Roque d'Anthéron, Piano Festival Ruhr, Rheingau Musik Festival, Edinburgh International Festival, Chopin and his Europe, and Gstaad Menuhin Festival.
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Bruce Liu was brought to the world’s attention in 2021 when he won First Prize at the 18th Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw. He has since toured the world, appearing at venues such as the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, Berlin Philharmonie, Vienna Konzerthaus, BOZAR Brussels, Tokyo Opera City, Sala São Paulo, and the Royal Festival Hall with the Philharmonia Orchestra.
both Critics’ choice and Editor’s choice in Gramophone magazine and was described as “simply one of the most distinguished Chopin recitals of recent years”. Born in Paris to Chinese parents, Liu grew up in Montreal. His diverse cultural background has shaped his personality and character. He draws inspiration from sources such as European refinement, Chinese tradition, North American dynamism, and openness. He has studied with teachers such as Richard Raymond and Dang Thai Son and approaches his artistic journey with optimism and a smile.
Liu is an exclusive artist with Deutsche Grammophon. His first album, featuring his winning performances from the Chopin Competition, won a Fryderyk Award and received international acclaim. It was named 7
CH O P I N A N D BEETH OV EN – BR U C E L IU AND JU K K A-PEK K A SAR ASTE | 23 & 24 N O V 2 0 23
B R U CE L I U piano
TH E O RCH ES T RA
The Orchestra
SECO N D VIOL IN Tseng Chieh-An Principal Michael Loh Associate Principal Nikolai Koval* Sayuri Kuru Hai-Won Kwok Chikako Sasaki* Margit Saur Shao Tao Tao Wu Man Yun* Xu Jueyi* Yeo Teow Meng Yin Shu Zhan* Zhao Tian
HANS GRAF Music Director RODOLFO BARRÁEZ Associate Conductor CHOO HOEY Conductor Emeritus LAN SHUI Conductor Laureate
VIO L A
EUDENICE PALARUAN Choral Director
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
WONG LAI FOON Choirmaster FIRS T VI OL I N (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*
CELL O Ng Pei-Sian Principal, The HEAD Foundation Chair Yu Jing Associate Principal Guo Hao Fixed Chair Chan Wei Shing Christopher Mui Jamshid Saydikarimov Song Woon Teng Wang Yan Wu Dai Dai Zhao Yu Er D O U B L E BAS S Yang Zheng Yi Associate Principal Karen Yeo Fixed Chair Olga Alexandrova Jacek Mirucki Guennadi Mouzyka Wang Xu 8
FLUTE
H O RN
Jin Ta Principal, Stephen Riady Chair Evgueni Brokmiller Associate Principal Roberto Alvarez Miao Shanshan
Austin Larson Principal Gao Jian Associate Principal Jamie Hersch Associate Principal Marc-Antoine Robillard Associate Principal Bryan Chong^ Hoang Van Hoc
PICCOLO Roberto Alvarez Assistant Principal
TR U M P ET Jon Paul Dante Principal David Smith Associate Principal Lau Wen Rong Nuttakamon Supattranont
OBOE Rachel Walker Principal Pan Yun Associate Principal Carolyn Hollier Elaine Yeo
TR O M B O N E Allen Meek Principal Damian Patti Associate Principal Samuel Armstrong
COR ANG L AI S Elaine Yeo Associate Principal CLARINE T
B A SS T R O MBONE
Ma Yue Principal Li Xin Associate Principal Liu Yoko Tang Xiao Ping
Wang Wei Assistant Principal TU B A Tomoki Natsume Principal
BAS S CL AR I NE T Tang Xiao Ping Assistant Principal
TIM P A N I
BAS S OON
Christian Schiøler Principal Mario Choo
Marcelo Padilla^ Principal Liu Chang Associate Principal Christoph Wichert Zhao Ying Xue
P ER CU SSIO N Jonathan Fox Principal Mark Suter Associate Principal Mario Choo Lim Meng Keh
CONTRABAS S OON Zhao Ying Xue Assistant Principal
H A RP Gulnara Mashurova Principal
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T H E O RC HE ST RA
* With deep appreciation to the Rin Collection for their generous loan of string instruments. ^ Musician on temporary contract 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.
G U EST MU S I CI A N S
Guest Musicians BU TTE RFLY LO VERS VIO L I N CONCE RT O | 1 0 & 1 1 NOV 2 023
FIRST VIOLIN Kurt Nikkanen Guest Concertmaster PIANO/CELESTA Nicholas Loh
CH OPIN A N D B EET HO VE N – BRUCE L I U A ND JUK K A -P E K KA SAR ASTE | 23 & 24 N O V 2023
FIRST VIOLIN Vesa-Matti Leppanen Guest Concertmaster
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B U TTERFLY LOV ERS V I OLI N C O N C E R T O 梁祝小提琴协奏曲 Fri & Sat, 10 & 11 Nov 2023 Victoria Concert Hall Singapore Symphony Orchestra Rodolfo Barráez Associate Conductor Chloe Chua violin/Artist-In-Residence*
C HEN G AN G
Sunshine Over Tashkurgan* (orch. Yang Li Qing, SSO Premiere)
6 mins
C HEN G AN G & H E ZH AN H AO
梁祝小提琴协奏曲 Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto*
27 mins
Intermission
20 mins
Autograph session with Chloe Chua
B EET H O V E N
26 mins
Symphony No. 8 in F major, Op. 93
Concert Duration: approximately 1 hr 40 mins (including 20 mins intermission)
CHECK-IN TO TONIGHT'S CONCERT Scan this QR code with the Singapore Symphony Mobile App.
Dedicated to
B U T T ERF LY LOV ER S V IOL IN C ONC ER TO | 10 & 11 NOV 2023
MESSAGE FROM SYMPHONY 924 Tonight, an age-old love story unfolds in symphonic splendour. Symphony 924, Singapore’s only classical music station, and our partner Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) are excited to present the timeless Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto, featuring SSO’s youngest ArtistIn-Residence, violin prodigy Chloe Chua playing under the baton of SSO Associate Conductor Rodolfo Barráez. Inspired by the eponymous Chinese legend of the star-crossed lovers Liang Shanbo (梁山伯) and Zhu Yingtai (祝英台), this violin concerto is celebrated as one of the most popular works of its kind from the 20th century. As Chloe whisks you away to the landscapes of historic China, get ready to witness the talent that garnered her a jointfirst prize at the prestigious 2018 Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists. Since then, the young starlet has performed globally in collaboration with world-class orchestras and released her acclaimed debut album of The Four Seasons in 2023, with more to come. Under the direction of SSO Associate Conductor Rodolfo Barráez, who most recently won the First Prize at the 2023 Hong Kong International Conducting Competition, the concert will begin with the soulful warmth of Sunshine Over Tashkurgan and end with the rhapsodic embrace of Beethoven’s spirited Eighth Symphony. We hope the melodies linger and tales resonate. Simone Lum Head for Growth & Audio, Mediacorp 13
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CHEN GANG (b. 1935) 阳光照耀着塔什库尔干 (1976) SSO Premiere Sunshine Over Tashkurgan, orch. Yang Li Qing From 1966 to 1976, the People’s Republic of China was in the grip of the Cultural Revolution, and Western music — everything from Bach to the Beatles — was forbidden, and the only permitted performing material was the eight “Model Plays” and revolutionary songs. One bored musician was Pan Yinlin, principal violinist of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, who was running out of repertoire for his solo recitals. In 1974, Pan encouraged the composer Chen Gang to write new repertoire for him.
the Greek astronomer Ptolemy of Alexandria in his 2nd Century treatise Geographica as the midpoint of the journey between China and Europe. In addition to using Persianstyle maqams (modes), Chen worked two Tajik melodies into his composition: Beautiful Taxkorgan and Spring in the Pamirs to help evoke the Central Asian steppes and grasslands. With a majority population of Muslim Chinese Tajiks, who speak a language closely related to Persian, Tashkurgan and its Perso-Arabo-Turkic culture would have been seen as exotic by the average Han Chinese, much like the Orientalist crazes among 19th century Europeans.
Chen Gang was born in 1935 in Shanghai as the son of Chen Gexin, a noted composer of popular music including the songs Shanghai Nights (夜上海, Ye Shanghai) and The Blossom of Youth (花样年华, Huayang Nianhua), both famously sung by Zhou Xuan. Chen senior’s Rose, Rose I Love You (玫瑰玫瑰我愛你, Meigui Meigui Wo Ai Ni) was covered by Frankie Laine in 1951 and to date the only major popular music hit in the USA by a Chinese composer. Chen Gang himself studied music first under his father and then at the Shanghai Conservatory, where he eventually became professor, a post he holds to this day.
With the 1976 death of Mao Zedong, much of the repression came to an end and the floodgates opened. Sunshine Over Tashkurgan was premiered at the Shanghai Culture Square that same year and immediately became a hit.
While working within the nationalistic requirements of his time, Chen Gang found inspiration in folk music from the western frontier region of Xinjiang. The work Sunshine Over Tashkurgan depicts the town of Tashkurgan (officially spelled Taxkorgan), near the border with Tajikistan. An ancient stop on the Silk Road, Tashkurgan’s name in Tajik means “Stone Tower”, and is a possible candidate for the Stone Tower mentioned by
Instrumentation solo violin, 2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, tambourine, triangle, suspended cymbal, bass drum, xylophone, harp, celesta, strings World Premiere 1976, Shanghai 14
Most classical musical works on Chinese themes, such as Puccini’s Turandot, perhaps unavoidably, due to their origins in Europe, have played up the exotic and orientalising aspects. A notable exception is The Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto by Chen Gang and He Zhanhao, based on the story of the Butterfly Lovers, often called the Romeo & Juliet of China. Who were the Butterfly Lovers? Zhu Yingtai is the daughter of a wealthy merchant who allowed her an education – she disguises herself as a boy to join classes undetected. Her best friend in boarding school is the poor scholar Liang Shanbo; they are attracted to each other and become sworn brothers in a sexually ambiguous romance. Zhu’s father eventually recalls her home for marriage to a wealthy merchant. Liang pays Zhu a surprise visit at her family mansion and to his greatest surprise discovers his sworn brother is really a girl. Liang asks to marry Zhu, but she is already betrothed and to break that would bring shame upon the family. Liang becomes a county magistrate and dies of a broken heart and, at his request, is buried by the road outside the village of Zhu’s fiancé, so the lady would pass it by on her wedding day. When the appointed day arrives, Zhu is escorted to her fiancé’s house to complete the wedding ceremony. A storm breaks out, and the procession has no choice but to stop by Liang’s grave. The lady steps out of the litter to mourn her lover, richly dressed in her red bridal dress and jewels. Seeing that the tomb opens at her coming, the
Zhu Yingtai and Liang Shanbo as classmates Art: Song Wenzhi (宋文治) / viewofchina.com
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B U T T ERF LY LOV ER S V IOL IN C ONC ER TO | 10 & 11 NOV 2023
CHEN GANG (b. 1935) & HE ZHANHAO (b. 1933) 梁祝小提琴协奏曲 (1959) Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto
BU TTER FL Y L OV ER S V IOL IN C ONC ER TO | 10 & 1 1 N O V 2 0 2 3
duet, the heart of the work. Presto resoluto has the violin and cello raging against fate (the orchestra) before the pair resign themselves to what cannot be prevented – Liang (the cello) grows sick and dies. This section ends with Zhu’s eventual suicide, evocatively depicted in the violin solo which ends abruptly on a high note. As a sort of epilogue, the work ends with an Adagio cantabile, redeveloping the original theme to a bittersweet climax.
lady throws herself in without hesitation. The sky soon clears, and the sun shines again, but to the amazement of those present, the bride is no more. Instead, a pair of butterflies are seen fluttering around the grave before they disappear into the distance.
a pair of butterflies are seen fluttering around the grave before they disappear into the distance.
The work was to mark the 10th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, and what better way than with a popular folk tale, where backward feudal views about marriage caused the destruction of two bright futures? Thus, with this work, we come full circle – viewing a Chinese theme, through the medium of a Western orchestra, from a distinctly Chinese perspective.
Composed in 1959 while Chen and He were students at the Shanghai Conservatory, the concerto utilises traditional melodies and themes of Yue opera, the traditional opera of the Wu-speaking areas of Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces, juxtaposing pentatonic melodies with a Western harmonic support. An Adagio cantabile, the first of seven sections, opens with flute solo that brings to mind a fluttering butterfly. Here enters the violin, representing Zhu in her happy childhood, eventually meeting Liang (represented by the cello) on the road to school in Hangzhou, and sparks are kindled. Three busy years in school follow in the Allegro. The Allegro assai doloroso shows the pair about to graduate and saddened by their parting. Pesante – piu mosso – duramente follows, where Zhu arrives home and is informed of her arranged marriage, with the music of the violin clearly showing her inner turmoil. The arrival of Liang and his discovery of Zhu’s true identity are the background of the Lagrimoso, where cello and violin play an intensely emotional
Instrumentation solo violin, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, cymbals, tam-tam, gu ban, harp, piano, strings World Premiere 27 May 1959, Shanghai First performed by SSO 25 Oct 1979 (Takako Nishizaki, violin) 16
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B U T T ERF LY LOV ER S V IOL IN C ONC ER TO | 10 & 11 NOV 2023
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770–1827) Symphony No. 8 in F major, Op. 93 (1812) Allegro vivace e con brio Allegretto scherzando Tempo di menuetto Allegro vivace
Beethoven’s odd-numbered symphonies are justifiably well-known, but the evennumbered ones have always been overshadowed somewhat, with the Second and Eighth suffering especially. Beethoven certainly did not intend for this to be the case, though he did always refer to the Eighth as his “Little Symphony in F”, planning for it to be a smaller, lighter work. After the roaring success of his Seventh Symphony, Beethoven rushed right into the composition of the Eighth, presumably as a method of distracting himself from what he saw as necessary interference in his brother Johann’s family life. (In reality, he would take his sister-in-law Joanna to court several times, even under falsely assumed nobility, and his unpleasantness would cause his nephew Karl to attempt suicide.) The premiere in Vienna, two years later, would come when Beethoven was already growing deaf, and though he tried to conduct, the orchestra found him rather hopeless, electing instead to follow the concertmaster. Portrait of Beethoven (1815) by Joseph Willibrord Mähler
Beethoven’s enormous alcohol consumption and emotional insecurities are well kept at the gates in this look back to his old masters: Haydn and Mozart take turns to appear in this symphony, with the inspiration for the second movement (a constantly ticking rhythm) presumably being Haydn’s Clock Symphony. The first movement, a classical sonata-allegro, is kept from being 17
BU TTER FL Y L OV ER S V IOL IN C ONC ER TO | 10 & 1 1 N O V 2 0 2 3
too heavy by Beethoven’s decision to endweight the whole opus — a strategy he reused in composing the great Ninth. As is usual with Beethoven, driving rhythms and forte-piano contrasts and accents make up the main argument. Right from the outset, the theme is subjected to musical jokes, and the climax of the movement is deliberately delayed to the recapitulation instead of the usual place in the development. This loud-soft contrast comes to the fore in the “minuet” of the third movement, where Beethoven vandalises the old form with sforzando accents scattered all over the place, a practical joke recycled from his (also very Haydnesque) Violin Sonata No. 8 of a decade earlier. The super-fast, irony-laden finale is Beethoven at his most humorous, and the sudden fortissimo note in the opening is right out of Haydn’s playbook. Timpani features heavily here, along with sudden keychanges, syncopations, lopsided dances, clumsy counterpoint, and quasi-religious episodes. The whole symphony ends on an altogether too-long passage of F major harmony. Programme notes by Edward C. Yong (Chen/He) and Thomas Ang (Beethoven)
Instrumentation 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, strings World Premiere 27 Feb 1814, Vienna First performed by SSO 5 May 1979 18
CH OP IN A ND BEETH O V EN BRUCE LIU AN D J U K K A- PE KKA S A R A S T E Thu & Fri, 23 & 24 Nov 2023 Victoria Concert Hall Singapore Symphony Orchestra Jukka-Pekka Saraste conductor Bruce Liu piano*
S C HO E N B E RG
Chamber Symphony No. 2, Op. 38 (SSO Premiere)
22 mins
C H O PI N
Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11*
39 mins
Intermission
20 mins
Autograph session with Bruce Liu
B EET H O V E N
26 mins
Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21
Concert Duration: approximately 2 hrs (including 20 mins intermission)
CHECK-IN TO TONIGHT'S CONCERT Scan this QR code with the Singapore Symphony Mobile App.
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Adagio Con fuoco
Despite the historical distance of a literal century, Arnold Schoenberg and his associates — known collectively as the “Second Viennese School” — still suffer from some real stigma today, mostly due to a reputation for their music being difficult to listen to and unpalatable to, apparently, all but the most “educated” (read: elitist) ears. That latter accusation is patently untrue: Schoenberg’s music, in particular, stems from his deep love of the high Romantics, especially Brahms, and a lot of the gestures he uses in his compositions are filled with the same kind of rhetorical force.
under all the long, lyrical melodic lines moving throughout chunks of the orchestra, and various solo instruments poke through the texture with anguished cries. The second movement, marked “with fire”, is in a jaunty G major, and indeed does not stray far from the sound world of Strauss opera. Much of this music is in a fast waltz, full of Germanic Schwung, and the melodies are angular and reach across large ranges. The harmonic language here is very modern, fittingly on the cusp of the Second World War; there is a sense of breaking apart, of something being torn down and rebuilt. The music ends as it opens, in E-flat minor, but so much has happened in between.
With that in mind, he could still write some fiendishly dissonant (and therefore “atonal”) work; the piano works of his middle years and especially the Variations for Orchestra (Op. 31) are examples of his twelve-tone organisation system, which purported to give all twelve notes of the chromatic scale absolutely equal weight instead of favouring a tonic or “home key”. After this ideological ultimatum, he mellowed somewhat, finding a slightly uneasy middle ground between that and his old Romantic habits. Thus the second Chamber Symphony arose: it even uses a key signature! Much of the harmony in this piece is firmly rooted in tonal procedures, even if the chromaticism and modulations are taken to an extreme. The opening Adagio, forming the first movement, is in E-flat minor, even if the music struggles to stay pinned down in any one key for more than a few seconds at a time. There is a sense of real drama brewing
Instrumentation 2 flutes (1 doubling on piccolo), 2 oboes (1 doubling on cor anglais), 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, strings World Premiere 14 Dec 1940, New York 21
CH O P I N A N D BEETH OV EN – BR U C E L IU AND JU K K A-PEK K A SAR ASTE | 23 & 24 N O V 202 3
ARNOLD SCHOENBERG (1874–1951) SSO Premiere Chamber Symphony No. 2, Op. 38 (1906, rev. 1938)
C HO PIN AN D B E E TH O V E N – B R U C E L IU AND JU K K A-PEK K A SAR ASTE | 23 & 2 4 N O V 2 0 2 3
FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN (1810–1849) Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11 (1830) I II III
Allegro maestoso Romanze. Larghetto Rondo. Vivace
The numbering of Chopin’s two piano concerti is in the opposite order to which they were written; Chopin decided to publish his “better” concerto first, to judge its commercial success, after which he cleaned up the earlier, more youthful one to be printed as No. 2. Both of these are beautiful, sparkling works, full of the piano writing that defines his best work, though they suffer from the somewhat pedestrian orchestration that plagued almost every early Romantic concerto.
there is no need for a cadenza, though a carefully considered coda closes out the first movement. Chopin’s use of muted strings in the second movement is a truly special effect, one that he was so pleased with that he even wrote to Bellini about it. The entire movement is a homage to the latter composer, and he described it as having a “romantic, calm, and rather melancholy character”, somewhat like “a moonlit reverie on a beautiful spring night”. Apart from two short orchestral passages, this movement is basically a solo nocturne.
In his own piano playing Chopin was as if Beethoven never existed: there is very little that is forceful in his work. Chopin sought narrative drama in other ways, often through use of counterpoint and through sensitively judged chromatic harmony. His melodies were influenced heavily by his love of Bellini’s operas, and the bel canto tradition permeates his approach to ornamentation and variation (as can be heard in the slow movement here).
With no pause, the rondo-finale begins, a rollicking Krakowiak full of virtuosic piano writing of the greatest delicacy. The bright E major and dance-like nature of the music ensured that this was a brilliant crowdpleaser, even though Chopin never appeared in more than 50 concerts throughout his life, and often to audiences of less than 100. His fame would spread like wildfire throughout Europe, and his music would never leave the concert stage.
In Classical fashion, the opening orchestral tutti lays out all the thematic material to be used in the rest of the first movement. It lasts an uncommonly long time and sounds like the exposition of a symphony, but once the piano enters, it dominates the rest of the concerto’s duration. The piano solo part is overwhelmingly lyrical here, bedecked in gorgeous ornamentation, while the orchestra takes a firm back seat, only laying down harmonies for the piano to float over. With how detailed the piano part is,
Instrumentation 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, bass trombone, timpani, strings World Premiere 11 Oct 1830, Warsaw (Poland) First performed by SSO 11 Jun 1979 (Nancy Loo, piano) 22
I II III IV
CH O P I N A N D BEETH OV EN – BR U C E L IU AND JU K K A-PEK K A SAR ASTE | 23 & 24 N O V 2 0 23
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770–1827) Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21 (1800) Adagio molto – Allegro con brio Andante cantabile con moto Menuetto. Allegro molto e vivace Finale. Adagio – Allegro molto e vivace
Beethoven’s first foray into the symphonic form marked, in historical retrospect, the beginning of a new era. Coming five years after Haydn’s last symphony and a dozen years after Mozart’s great Jupiter (also in C major), it is a mix of the Classical style taken to another level and the musical humour that Haydn was known for. The first twelve bars, a sort of slow introduction to the main music of the symphony, starts “in the wrong key”, as it were, immediately cadencing into F major before a series of chromatic chords bring it back to C major for the usual sonataallegro first movement. The young Beethoven was no stranger to experimenting with form, and the development here is especially long compared to any symphony that came before. Beethoven makes heavy demands on his newly expanded, early-Romantic orchestra, and finds pleasure in combining them in various juxtapositions. There is a coda which recalls the development, as if the movement is going to start developing again, before the orchestra wraps it all up with strong, repeated chords.
Popart illustration of Beethoven featured in SSO's mobile app
The “slow” movement is not exactly slow either, and, unlike the Classical symphony that came before, Beethoven uses the full orchestral forces (except for the second flute). Commensurate with this additional orchestral weight is Beethoven’s use of a full sonata form instead of the usual A-B-A, resulting in a much longer movement than 23
C HO P IN AN D B E E TH O V E N – B R U C E L IU AND JU K K A-PEK K A SAR ASTE | 23 & 2 4 N O V 2 0 2 3
expected. And, again pushing against convention, the Menuetto is so fast as to be un-danceable! It is more like a “scherzo”, a term Beethoven would use for his later symphonies, and in the manner of a musical joke, he wrenches the key up by a semitone less than half a minute into the third movement. In the course of this movement, he recalls musical material from the first, lending the whole symphony a sense of unity despite its increased length.
This movement is probably the closest he comes to writing in the Classical style, being full of Haydnesque joie de vivre. The finale starts with another slow introduction: hesitant strings slowly outline a scale upwards from G to F before the full octave is played as a fast upbeat into the movement proper. This movement is probably the closest he comes to writing in the Classical style, being full of Haydnesque joie de vivre. The uprushing scales and brass fanfares are all Haydn mannerisms, and the open harmonies and bright mood showed that he had grasped the work of the old masters and was ready to forge his own way forward.
Instrumentation 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, strings
Programme notes by Thomas Ang
World Premiere 2 Apr 1800, Vienna First performed by SSO 21 May 1979 24
SSO PRESIDENT’S YOUNG PERFORMERS 2024 CONCERT OPEN FOR AUDITIONS
Auditions will be held for shortlisted Singaporean instrumentalists performing concertos written for their instrument and Singaporean vocalists performing any vocal work with orchestra.
2023 soloist Hao Jia piano Rodolfo Barráez Associate Conductor
ELIGIBILITY Applicants should be Singapore citizens. Applicants should be no more than 25 years of age, as of 1 July 2024. APPLICATION DEADLINE Applicants are invited to submit their online application by 31 December 2023, with the following items: 1. Biography including their date of birth, musical background and contact information 2. A high-quality video featuring a recent performance of a complete concerto with either piano or orchestra accompaniment, with composer name, duration of each movement and edition (if applicable) of the work clearly labelled. For application enquiries, please contact: pypc@sso.org.sg
SCAN TO APPLY APPLICATION DEADLINE 31 December 2023
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2023/24 SEASON UPCOMING CONCERTS
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SINGAPORE’S PREMIER CLASSICAL MUSIC COMPETITION
25 Nov – 3 Dec 2023
N AT I O N A L
COMPETITION 14 th EDITION
VICTORIA CONCERT HALL ESPLANADE RECITAL STUDIO
The National Piano & Violin Competition is Singapore’s oldest and most prestigious music competition. In its 14th edition, this biennial competition celebrates music excellence and serves as a platform to identify music talent, as well as to develop and nurture young musicians by providing them the opportunity to showcase their performing skills and musicality before international adjudicators. All performances will be livestreamed on Singapore Symphony or Singapore National Youth Orchestra’s YouTube channels. Public can enjoy free admission to most live competition rounds. Tickets to the Artist Finals on 2 & 3 December and Prize Winners’ Concert on 3 December are on sale at $10 each.
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