Stefan Jackiw Plays Beethoven

STEFAN JACKIW PLAYS BEETHOVEN THE KREUTZER SONATA 24 & 25 MAR 2022 VICTORIA CONCERT HALL

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ST E FA N JA CK I W PLAY S B EE T HO V E N THE KR E U T Z E R S O N A T A 24 & 25 Mar 2022 Victoria Concert Hall Singapore Symphony Orchestra Gábor Káli conductor Stefan Jackiw violin*

H A YD N

Symphony No. 78 in C minor SSO PREMIERE

20 mins

B EET H O V E N

Kreutzer Sonata* SSO PREMIERE (arr. Tognetti for solo violin and strings)

38 mins

Intermission

20 mins

Symphony No. 80 in D minor SSO PREMIERE

21 mins

H A YD N

Concert Duration: 2 hrs (with 20 mins intermission)

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.

STEFAN JAC K IW PL AYS BEETH OV EN | 24 & 2 5 MAR 2 0 2 2

© LUDWIG OLAH

Capitole de Toulouse in France and the Polish National Radio Symphony.

G Á B OR K ÁL I conductor

In the coming seasons, Gábor Káli will debut with the Bayerische and Hamburg Staatsopers. He will also be working with major orchestras such as French Orchestre de Paris and Orchestre National de Lille, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Hong Kong Sinfonietta and Staatsorchester Stuttgart, among many others. He will also make a return to the RSO Vienna to conduct the Musikverein in Summer 2021.

Gábor Káli regularly conducts new music and premieres various works across the globe. He is greatly appreciated for his deep knowledge of Bartók’s works which led him to conduct the Budapest Festival Orchestra on their tour.

After replacing Iván Fischer upon the maestro’s request in April 2019 with the prestigious Budapest Festival Orchestra, earning rave reviews and standing ovations in major cities and venues, Hungarian Gábor Káli positioned himself as one of the most promising young conductors.

Gábor Káli was awarded the prestigious Nestlé and Salzburg Festival Young Conductors Award in 2018. That year, he also won the First Prize at the inaugural Hong Kong International Conducting Competition. He studied piano and conducting at the Franz Liszt Music Academy in Budapest, and joined the Dirigentenforum of the Deutsche Musikrat, where he attended masterclasses with Kurt Masur, Colin Metters and Sian Edwards.

In 2019/20, he was invited to conduct Mozart’s The Magic Flute at Dresden’s Semperoper upon Christian Thielemann’s invitation. In summer 2019, he conducted the ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna at the Salzburg Festival. In the same year, he accepted invitations by Orchestre du 4

S T EF A N J A CKIW PL AYS BEETH OV EN | 24 & 25 MA R 2022

S T EFAN J ACK I W violin

© SOPHIE ZHAI

Stefan Jackiw is one of America’s foremost violinists, captivating audiences on both sides of the Atlantic with his poetry, pure sound, and impeccable technique.

Jackiw has appeared as soloist with the Boston, Chicago, Cleveland and New York Philharmonic Orchestras, winning the support of numerous conductors including Andris Nelsons, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Sir Andrew Davis, Juraj Valčuha, Yuri Temirkanov, Hannu Lintu, Ludovic Morlot, Philippe Herreweghe, Mario Venzago and Hans Graf.

Since bursting onto the London stage with the Philharmonia at 14, Jackiw has been a frequent visitor to Europe, recently collaborating with the Deutsches Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Danish National Symphony, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Helsinki Philharmonic, RTVE Madrid, RAI Turin Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony and returning to the Philharmonia.

the Louvre in Paris. In America he has given recitals at the Ravinia Festival, Boston Celebrity Series, Kennedy Center Washington, Mostly Mozart Festival and Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and at the opening night of Carnegie’s Zankel Hall. As a chamber musician he has collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma, Gil Shaham, Steven Isserlis, Mahan Esfahani and regularly works with Jeremy Denk.

Recent North American performances have included concerts with the Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Chicago Symphony Orchestras with regular appearances at Aspen and Blossom Music Festivals. In recitals, Jackiw has performed at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival with pianist Christoph Eschenbach and at

Born of Korean/German heritage, Jackiw began studying the violin at the age of 4.

His teachers include Zinaida Gilels, Michèle Auclair and Donald Weilerstein. In 2002 he was awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant.

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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 V I 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 OO N

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

* With deep appreciation to the Rin Collection for their generous loan of string instruments.

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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FIRST VIOLIN Kong Zhao Hui Acting Concertmaster/ Associate Concertmaster Duan Yu Ling Jin Li Kong Xianlong William Tan Zhang Si Jing SECOND VIOLIN Ye Lin Hai-Won Kwok Shao Tao Tao Wu Man Yun Yeo Teow Meng Yin Shu Zhan VIOLA Manchin Zhang Gu Bing Jie Julia Park Janice Tsai Yang Shi Li

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CELLO Ng Pei-Sian Song Woon Teng Wang Yan Wu Dai Dai

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S T EF A N J A CKIW PL AYS BEETH OV EN | 24 & 25 MA R 2022

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STEFAN JAC K IW PL AYS BEETH OV EN | 24 & 2 5 MAR 2 0 2 2

JOSEPH HAYDN (1732–1809) Symphony No. 78 in C minor (1782) SSO PREMIERE I II III IV

Vivace Adagio Menuetto. Allegretto Finale. Presto major Adagio that seems full of expectation and satisfaction, looking forward to his later London symphonies.

Right from the start, Haydn gives us uncertainty and tension, though nothing like in his sturm und drang symphonies. Urgency dominates the Vivace, but we are brought frequently into relief by the second theme in E-flat major, and it is that key which dominates the exposition, keeping the mood rather lighter. Written as the final symphony in 1782 in a set (Nos. 76–78) intended for London audiences, he described them as ‘very easy, and without too much concertante – for the English gentlemen’. In other words, he thought his English audience couldn’t handle full-on Italian passion and drama.

This led to a paradox – Europe’s leading composer was locked into his duties in a remote palace in the Hungarian countryside, far cosmopolitan Vienna. Haydn longed to travel, and thus the three symphonies (76–78) were born, as a sort of publicity ahead of a planned trip to England. In the C major third movement Menuetto we almost feel Haydn’s excitement building.

Unfortunately, the plans fell through and while his frustration can be heard in the C minor Presto finale, the music keeps going into C major – Haydn had much to do and had plenty going for him. London could wait, and he eventually made two trips (1791– 1792 and 1794–1795), cementing his reputation as the greatest composer alive.

From 1766 Haydn was kapellmeister (music director) to the princely Hungarian Esterházy family, the greatest nobles of the Kingdom of Hungary during the Habsburg Empire. Haydn wore a livery uniform, ate with the rest of the servants, and followed the family between their palaces, most notably their castle Schloss Esterházy in Eisenstadt (now Austria) and Esterháza their grand palace in Fertőd (Hungary). All compositions produced were the property of the Esterházy family, but in 1779 a renegotiated contract allowed him to write for others and sell his music to publishers as long as this did not interfere with his work.

With this, his fame spread across Europe, with a flood of commissions coming from as far abroad as Spain. Perhaps this explains the stately second movement, an E-flat

Instrumentation flute, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, strings World Premiere Unknown 18

I II III

Adagio sostenuto Andante con variazioni Finale. Presto

I am so excited to play Richard Tognetti’s unusual and highly imaginative arrangement of Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata – originally for violin and piano – for violin and string orchestra.

Beethoven was a breaker of boundaries and a re-imaginer of musical structures. However, what makes his music so vital, for me, is the ways in which it expresses the many facets of the human experience –– struggle, joy, triumph, despair, humor, acceptance. Tognetti’s arrangement of the Kreutzer is fiendishly difficult and pushes the boundaries of what is possible on a stringed instrument. This challenge also inspires in us musicians feelings of struggle, joy, triumph, despair, humor, and ultimately, acceptance.

Stefan Jackiw Works by great composers dedicated to and named for musicians are usually treasured, but not in the case of Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 9 “Kreutzer”. The sonata was originally dedicated to the 24-year-old virtuoso violinist George Bridgetower, a former child prodigy of mixed African and German-Polish descent, on tour in Germany.

and behaving like teenagers. The angry A minor mood expands and develops before the opening Adagio returns, ending with a burst of adolescent angst. At the premiere, Bridgetower surprised Beethoven by imitating and then expanding on a short piano cadenza in the first movement.

Beethoven, jumping up, hugged him, crying, ‘My dear boy! Once more!’

The premiere occurred on 24 May 1803, at the unusually early hour of 8:00 a.m., with Bridgetower sight-reading the sonata as there had been no time for rehearsal, and Beethoven playing the piano.

The work opens with a slow dramatic cadenza-like introduction, unique among Beethoven’s ten violin sonatas, before the accompaniment also comes in dramatically and the rising half-step interval motif appears. From A major, the music goes into a Presto A minor. Explosive and sensual, the music evokes images of Bridgewater and Beethoven staying up all night drinking

Respite arrives in the form of the second movement, an Andante con variazioni.

The accompaniment introduces the genial central theme, followed by four substantial variations. Bridgetower recalled: ‘Beethoven’s expression in the Andante was so chaste, which always characterized the performance of all his slow movements, that it was unanimously hailed to be repeated twice.’

An abrupt A major chord, as if pressing the reset button, is the only warning Beethoven 19

S T EF A N J A CKI W PL AYS BEETH OV EN | 24 & 25 M A R 2022

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770–1827) Kreutzer Sonata (1803) SSO PREMIERE arr. Tognetti for solo violin and strings

STEFAN JAC K IW PL AYS BEETH OV EN | 24 & 2 5 MAR 2 0 2 2

gives us before the Presto finale takes us on a fiery whirlwind ride of a tarantella that pauses only to regain momentum. After the performance, Beethoven presented Bridgetower his tuning fork and wrote a dedication on the score: ‘Sonata mulattica composta per il mulatto Brischdauer, gran pazzo e compositore mulattico’ (Mulatto sonata composed for the mulatto Bridgetower, great lunatic and mulatto composer).

The friendship did not last – they fell after a drinking session in which Bridgetower allegedly insulted the honour of a woman who turned out to be a dear friend of Beethoven. In a fit of pique, Beethoven rededicated the piece to Rodolphe Kreutzer, considered the finest violinist of his day, but Kreutzer disliked the piece and refused to play it – perhaps he did not appreciate leftovers.

Instrumentation solo violin and strings World Premiere 24 May 1803, Vienna

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I II III IV

Allegro spiritoso Adagio Menuetto Finale. Presto The final movement, Presto, dispels any darkness, the syncopation driving the music forward breathlessly. A witty first theme reveals Haydn’s waggish sense of humour shining through, as the music lurches drunkenly along. If there were a musical depiction of the Chinese ‘Drunken Fist’ martial art, this would be it – veering through multiple keys effortlessly. Our drunken master eventually lands with a wink at his amazed and confused audience, in the unexpected key of D major, never missing a chance to surprise them.

In 1784, Haydn was still in Esterházy while his fame grew by means of published works.

He was, as one could say, still planning to take over the world. His way of rocking the world is evident in the opening – a dramatic sturm und drang gesture with violins providing the torrential downpour while the lower strings give us lashing waves.

An unexpected second theme comes in, a lighthearted major-key dance tune on flutes and violins, before the two themes jostle for prominence. Haydn, who conducted the orchestra from the keyboard, must have loved seeing his audiences’ faces as the music goes against audience expectations, ending in D major.

Programme notes by Edward C. Yong

Calm after the storm comes in the Adagio, a serene B-flat major full of sunshine, yet with some dark clouds in the distance. The third movement is a Menuetto in D minor, with a curious D major trio in which the winds play a melody derived from Gregorian chant, ‘incipit lamentatione’, which marks the beginning of the Lamentations of Jeremiah, sung in churches during Holy Week, a theme he had previously used in his 26th Symphony. Are these the dark clouds hinted at in the previous movement? The symphony was written for a Lenten concert in Vienna in March 1785, which may have inspired the use of the chant theme.

Instrumentation flute, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, strings World Premiere March 1785, Vienna 21

S T EF A N J A CKI W PL AYS BEETH OV EN | 24 & 25 M A R 2022

JOSEPH HAYDN Symphony No. 80 in D minor (1784) SSO PREMIERE

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

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Kok Tse Wei (Head)

Artistic Administration Teo Chew Yen Jodie Chiang Lynnette Chng

Community Engagement Kua Li Leng (Head) Erin Tan Terrence Wong Samantha Lim

Development Chelsea Zhao (Ag Head) Anderlin Yeo Nikki Chuang Charmaine Fong

O P E R AT I O N S Ernest Khoo (Head) Library Lim Lip Hua Avik Chari Wong Yi Wen Orchestra Management Chia Jit Min (Head) Karis Ong Peck Xin Hui Production Management Fenella Ng Nurul Ainnie bte Md Sidek Mazlan bin Ali Ramayah Elango D I G I TA L S S O C O O R D I N AT I O N Cindy Lim (Lead) Chia Jit Min (Asst Lead) Chia Han-Leon Hans Sørensen

Choral Programmes Kua Li Leng (Head) Regina Lee Whitney Tan Mimi Syaahira bte Ruslaine Singapore National Youth Orchestra Pang Siu Yuin (Head) Lai Jun Wei Tang Ya Yun Tan Sing Yee ABRSM Patricia Yee Lai Li-Yng Joong Siow Chong Freddie Loh May Looi William Teo CEO OFFICE Shirin Foo Musriah bte Md Salleh C O V I D -1 9 R E S P O N S E C O O R D I N AT I O N Lillian Yin (Lead) Rick Ong (Asst Lead)

Marketing Communications Cindy Lim (Head) Chia Han-Leon Sean Tan Hong Shu Hui Jana Loh Myrtle Lee Sherilyn Lim Customer Experience Randy Teo Dacia Cheang C O R P O R AT E S E R V I C E S Lillian Yin (Head) Finance, IT & Facilities Rick Ong (Head) Alan Ong Goh Hoey Fen Loh Chin Huat Md Zailani bin Md Said Human Resources Valeria Tan (Head) Melissa Lee Evelyn Siew Legal Edward Loh

SUP P OR T E D BY

PATRO N SP ONSOR

M ATCHE D BY

M A J O R D ON ORS

Mr & Mrs Goh Yew Lin

SE A SO N PAR T NERS Official Radio Station

Official Community Partner

Official Outdoor Media Partner

Official Airline

SE A SO N PAT RONS

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.