Masterclass by Jonathan Biss (SIPF 2023)

MASTERCLASS BY JONATHAN BISS 9 June 2023, 3:30pm Victoria Concert Hall Dance Studio

PROGRAMME Piano Masterclass with Jonathan Biss

Hosted by Mr. Foo Chen Loong

FONG ZI YING WANG HUANG HAO JIA J.S. BACH (1685 – 1750)

French Overture in B minor, BWV 831

DAVELYN JESINE LEE YUN YEEDJIWANDANA AMANDA Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756 – 1791)

(40 (40minutes) minutes)

Piano Sonata No. 17 in D major, K. 576

LEE ANN Robert SCHUMANN (1810 – 1856)

(40minutes) minutes) (40

(40 minutes)

Papillons, Op. 2

JONATHAN BISS

Jonathan Biss is a world-renowned pianist who channels his deep musical curiosity into performances and projects in the concert hall and beyond. In addition to performing with today’s leading orchestras, he continues to expand his reputation as a teacher, musical thinker, and one of the great Beethoven interpreters of our time. He is Co-Artistic Director alongside Mitsuko Uchida at the Marlboro Music Festival. He also recently led a massive open online course (MOOC) via Coursera, reaching an international audience of over 150,000. Biss writes extensively on his repertoire and has authored four audio- and e-books, including UNQUIET: My Life with Beethoven (2020), the first Audible Original by a classical musician and one of Audible’s top audiobooks of 2020.

During the 2022-23 season, Biss gives solo recitals in cities including Cologne, New York, Sydney, and Philadelphia, performing works by Berg, Schumann, and Schubert; he performs Beethoven trios with Midori and cellist Antoine Lederlin in Cologne, Hamburg, London, and Tokyo; and appears as soloist with the Atlanta Symphony, Concerto Budapest, Melbourne Symphony and the Rochester Philharmonic, as well as with the New York String Orchestra at Carnegie Hall playing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 (“Emperor”).

Biss has been recognized with numerous honors, including the Leonard Bernstein Award presented at the 2005 SchleswigHolstein Festival, Wolf Trap’s Shouse Debut Artist Award, the Andrew Wolf Memorial Chamber Music Award, Lincoln Center’s Martin E. Segal Award, an Avery Fisher Career Grant, the 2003 Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award, and a 2002 Gilmore Young Artist Award. His albums for EMI won the Diapason d’Or de l’Année and Edison awards.

MASTERCLASS PIANISTS WANG HUANG HAO JIA J.S. BACH (1685 – 1750) French Overture in B minor, BWV 831 Hao Jia started his musical studies at the tender age of 5 when he enrolled in the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts School of Young Talents Gifted Young Pianists Course. He was under the tutelage of the Principal, Mdm Fang Yuan since 2011. He won the 1st prize in the National Piano and Violin Competition (Intermediate category) in 2015 and the Grand Prize of the 3rd Steinway Youth Piano Competition in 2016. In 2017, he was accepted into Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, studying Piano Performance under Professor Albert Tiu. It is his dream to study in a music conservatory and he is loving the experience very much. He grew a lot in terms of musicality and technique and won the 1st prize in the National Piano and Violin Competition (Senior category) in 2019. Moreover, he had the honour to perform Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with the Singapore Police Force Band during his National Service. He is also grateful to have had masterclasses with Adam Gyorgy, An Ning, Erik T. Tawaststjerna, Foo Mei Yi, Jeremy Denk, Ng Chong Lim, Stephen Hough and Yoheved "Veda" Kaplinsky.

LEE YUN YEE AMANDA Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756 – 1791) Piano Sonata No. 17 in D major, K. 576 Lee Yun Yee Amanda was born in Singapore in 2001 and started learning the piano at the age of 4. She recently graduated with a Bachelor of Music (Hons) in Piano Performance at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music (YST), National University of Singapore (NUS), under the tutelage of Dr. Thomas Hecht and Dr. Khoo Hui Ling.

Amanda actively performs locally and internationally, as a soloist and a collaborative pianist. She has performed in many recitals like Asian Civilisation Museum (ACM) Concerts, YST Recital Series, Esplanade eXchΔnge Series. Amanda also had the pleasure of participating in masterclasses by Arbo Valdma, Gabriel Kwok, Támas Ungár, Kevin Class, Henri Sigfridsson, amongst other renowned pianists. She has won numerous competitions such as the 2014 International Competition of Young Musicians “Ohrid Pearls” Macedonia, the Thailand 5th Mozart International Piano Competition and the ‘Liszt Memorial Prizes’ Hong Kong International Piano Open Competition. Moreover, she has attained the Fellowship of Trinity College of London FTCL Piano Recital in 2019.

In the conservatory, Amanda has also been awarded the Dean’s List for the semesters in the Academic Year (AY) 2019/2020 Semester 2, AY 2021/22 Semesters 1 and 2 for academic excellence.

Amanda is passionate about serving the community and has headed many multisensorial projects involving hospices in Singapore. She strives to connect her music making with the mental and social wellness in the community. In her free time, she plays the violin and loves to search for the best spots for food.

LEE ANN Robert SCHUMANN (1810 – 1856) Papillons, Op. 2

Lee Ann is a Singaporean based pianist, who is currently a undergraduate in the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, studying Piano Performance under the tutelage of Professor Albert Tiu. Prior to that, she graduated from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 2021, where she was taught by Dr. Paul Liang. She also had opportunity to be taught by notable professors such as Erik Tawaststjerna and Henri Sigfridsson in masterclasses. During her years of studying, she grew to enjoy accompaniment and chamber music as well.

PARTICIPATING SCHOOL Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music Inspirational life-affirming music-making is at the heart of the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music at the National University of Singapore. Centred in one of the world’s most dynamic countries, the Conservatory is uniquely placed to offer a distinct and powerful contemporary Asian voice.

Founded in 2003, YST quickly established a reputation as Asia’s most exciting international conservatory by bringing together a world-class faculty and facility to develop excellence in instrumental performance and composition. Building on this strong foundation, the Conservatory has evolved over the past decade to become one of the world’s most distinctive music schools, diversifying its offerings and continually seeking to connect authentically with its surrounding community.

Specialisations added subsequently include Voice, Audio Arts & Sciences, Conducting, Music & Society and Music, Collaboration & Production. Alongside students from Singapore, the Conservatory community is internationally diverse, with representation from over 20 countries and five continents.

Keenly focused on nurturing identity as a driver for excellence, YST’s Bachelor of Music programme offers full financial support for all its undergraduate students, enabled by major gifts from the Yong Loo Lin Trust. The Conservatory’s continuum of offerings further includes a Master of Music and Master of Music Leadership degree; NUS-facing Second Majors, Minor and modules; Continuing Education & Training courses for adult learners; and a Young Artist programme.

We host a vibrant performance calendar with around 200 concerts annually, featuring students and faculty alongside international artists and ensembles. Our community engagement and professional integration programme has extensive local, regional and global reach. Students are supported to find their own artistic pathways through exchanges, festivals, competitions and projects. More broadly, our international networks and partnerships further enhance the educational experience and ensure our continued evolution.

Presented by

Organised by Singapore Symphony Group