Subito con forza! Orchestral Institute Plays Beethoven, Rachmaninof & Chin
Saturday, 19 April 2025
Esplanade Concert Hall
Saturday, 19 April 2025
Esplanade Concert Hall
Subito con forza! Orchestral Institute Plays Beethoven, Rachmaninof & Chin
YST ORCHESTRAL INSTITUTE WITH
JASON LAI, CONDUCTOR
UNSUK CHIN
subito con forza
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
Overture to Egmont
SERGEI RACHMANINOFF
Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27
Vice Dean’s Message
In joy and in sorrow, be thoughtful; Yearning and trembling in anguished pain; Exulting to heaven, cast unto death; Blessed alone is the soul that loves.
— From “Egmont” (1788), Johann Wolfgang van Goethe
Welcome, and thank you for joining us for the closing concert of YST’s 2024/25 season: Subito con forza! (suddenly with force!) featuring the music of Unsuk Chin, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Sergei Rachmaninoff.
Tonight’s performance carries us into terrain where sudden force and emotional intensity collide—where refection, resilience, and rebellion meet at the edge of change. These are not abstract ideas in 2025. As we navigate a world increasingly shaped by upheaval—ecological, political, and technological—we fnd ourselves in a state of unceasing acceleration, with moments of reckoning arriving swiftly and often without warning. Today, “subito con forza” feels all too real.
That spirit of urgency resonates not only in this evening’s aesthetic arc—from Unsuk Chin’s subito con forza, a fractured homage to Beethoven, brimming with disruption and reinvention; to the ferce idealism of Beethoven’s own Egmont Overture; and fnally to the expansive soul-searching of Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2 but also in the timeliness of this occasion. This concert marks the Orchestral Institute’s return to the newly refurbished Esplanade Concert Hall, a venue rich in memory and celebration for the YST Community. For the Conservatory’s graduating cohort, it serves as a meaningful culmination of their years of collaboration, discovery, and artistic growth—and a poignant reminder of how swiftly and feetingly four years can pass.
The evening unfolds with deliberate contrast. The frst half, urgent and volatile, strikes like a spark—brief and charged with disruption, resistance, and the fash of idealism. What follows after the intermission is something slower, deeper: a turn inward. Rachmaninoff’s vast symphonic landscape offers not resolution, but space—a place where echoes settle, and where emotion stretches out into time. Between these poles, the programme traces not just drama and aftermath, but something of the way we process volatile change itself.
Thank you for being part of this moment with us. We hope tonight’s journey offers a space to pause—to feel deeply, and to sit with both the intensity and stillness that music can hold. In a world of sudden turns, may these sounds linger as a reminder of how art helps us reckon with change, and fnd clarity, however feeting, in the present.
Associate Professor Brett Stemple Vice Dean (Ensembles, Research & Professional Awareness)
Programme Notes
Compiled and edited by Associate Professor Brett Stemple
subito con forza UNSUK
CHIN
Composed in 2020 to honor the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, Unsuk Chin’s (b. 1961) subito con forza is a concentrated burst of orchestral energy that channels the spirit of its dedicatee not through quotation, but through transformation.
The title—Italian for “suddenly, with force”—is both a musical directive and a conceptual lens: a nod to Beethoven’s penchant for abrupt contrasts and dramatic shifts, qualities that Chin reimagines through her own contemporary vocabulary.
In just fve minutes, Chin crafts a sonic landscape that oscillates between volatility and introspection. The work opens with a jolt—a full-orchestra chord that detonates like a musical exclamation point— before retreating into hushed textures that shimmer with tension. Throughout, Chin plays with extremes: dense clusters dissolve into fragile lines; rhythmic propulsion gives way to suspended stillness. These juxtapositions evoke what she describes as “volcanic eruptions to extreme serenity”, a dynamic she attributes to Beethoven’s own aesthetic—an aesthetic that had a direct impact on her composition. subito con forza thus becomes a compact embodiment of his restless spirit—his bold declarations, sharp turns, and the ferce duality captured in one of his most enigmatic utterances: “Dur und Moll. Ich bin ein Gewinner.” (“Major and minor. I am a winner.”).
Rather than offering a pastiche of Beethovenian motifs, subito con forza engages in a dialogue with his legacy. Fleeting allusions—such as a fragmented echo of the Fifth Symphony’s iconic rhythm—surface only to be deconstructed, as if viewed through a prism that refracts familiar gestures into new forms. This approach refects Chin’s broader compositional ethos: an exploration of sound’s spectral possibilities, a fascination with timbral nuance, and a commitment to pushing the boundaries of orchestral colour.
In subito con forza, Chin doesn’t merely pay homage to Beethoven; she interrogates his infuence, distilling his dramatic essence into a contemporary idiom. The result is a work that is both a tribute and a reinvention—a compact yet potent testament to music’s capacity for perpetual renewal.
Overture to Egmont
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
Commissioned in 1809 as incidental music for Goethe’s play Egmont, Ludwing van Beethoven’s (1770-1827) Overture has long since outgrown its theatrical frame to become a powerful concert work in its own right.
The play tells the story of Count Egmont, a 16th-century Dutch nobleman executed for defying Spanish rule—yet in death, he becomes a beacon of freedom. Beethoven, ever drawn to themes of heroism and resistance, poured this narrative into music charged with moral weight and dramatic urgency.
That urgency is unmistakable from the frst bars: brooding chords strike like warning bells, setting a tone of shadowed inevitability. But soon the music hurtles forward—restless, volatile, and ferce in its idealism. If Chin’s subito con forza conjures disruption and fragmentation, Beethoven’s iteration strikes with clarity and conviction, a sudden force animated by unshakable belief. And just when darkness seems to triumph, a blazing coda emerges: not the victory of one man, but of the spirit of freedom itself.
It’s a work that doesn’t simply narrate sacrifce—it transforms it, lifting the weight of struggle into the light of possibility. Heard in dialogue with what precedes it, the Overture offers a charged transition: from fracture to fre, from turmoil to defance.
Symphony No. 2 SERGEI
RACHMANINOFF
In the wake of the sharp contrasts and compressed intensity of the frst half of this evening’s program, Rachmaninoff’s (1873-1943) Symphony No. 2 opens a different kind of space—one shaped not by sudden force but by emotional breadth and time’s unfolding.
If Chin’s and Beethoven’s music offers immediacy and dramatic propulsion, Rachmaninoff’s expansive second symphony invites a slower kind of reckoning: lyrical, searching, and deeply human.
Written between 1906 and 1907 during a period of relative stability in Rachmaninoff’s life, his Second Symphony stands as a work of redemption. Following the disastrous premiere of his First Symphony in 1897—a failure so severe that it plunged the composer into a prolonged depression—Rachmaninoff withdrew from symphonic writing altogether. It was only after successful therapy, the constancy of his marriage, and the triumph of his Second Piano Concerto that he found the confdence to re-enter the symphonic form. The result is a work that is both lush and disciplined, emotionally open yet architecturally sound—proof that Rachmaninoff could craft a large-scale symphony that neither drowns in sentiment nor loses sight of structure.
The frst movement begins with a sense of shadowed reverence. A slow introduction—pensive, almost prayer-like—unfolds gradually, its long-breathed lines anchoring the work in the depths of the string section. Out of this murkiness rises the frst true theme, lyrical yet uncertain, searching for its path. Rachmaninoff’s skill as a pianist is evident here not in virtuosity but in the layered texture and harmonic shading—he writes orchestrally with a pianist’s ear for inner voices and long arcs.
The second movement, marked Allegro molto, delivers a burst of energy that feels sudden—but not disconnected. A scherzo in form
but not in character, it brims with rhythmic tension and forward drive, anchored by a prominent motto derived from the Dies irae chant, a recurring emblem in Rachmaninoff’s music. There is something cinematic in this movement’s sweep, its muscular phrasing and tempestuous pace tempered by moments of eerie calm. It nods back to the “subito con forza” gesture, not with jarring shock but with a kind of brooding inevitability.
Then comes the Adagio, the heart of the symphony and one of Rachmaninoff’s most transcendent creations. From the opening clarinet solo—rising out of silence with tender longing—to the soaring climax of the strings, the movement unfolds like a confession. Here, time feels suspended. The music breathes with an intimacy that borders on vulnerability, a kind of love song wrapped in memory. The Dies irae motif appears again, but softened, woven into the harmonic language not as threat but as gentle reminder of life’s impermanence. This is not serenity found through retreat, but through profound emotional excavation.
Rachmaninoff with his wife, Natalya Satina, ca. 1904
The fnale, Allegro vivace, offers resolution—but not a tidy one. It is celebratory, yes, but tinged with complexity. The movement is flled with rhythmic vigour and thematic callbacks, drawing together earlier material in a show of integration rather than mere repetition. The composer’s signature lyricism surges here in full voice, but so too does his precision: phrases are carefully shaped, transitions elegantly managed. If there is victory, it is hard-won and deeply felt.
In this second half of the concert, Rachmaninoff offers a counterweight to the fragmentation and fre of the frst. Not as reaction, but as response. Not healing in the sentimental sense, but rather as patient reckoning—a chance to sit with what’s been stirred up, to dwell in the long resonance that follows upheaval. The symphony becomes not an escape from force, but a kind of witness to its aftermath. If subito con forza represents the spark, Rachmaninoff’s music is the slow burn: the echo that doesn’t fade, but lingers, not unlike Goethe’s blessed lonely soul that so inspired Beethoven.
Creatives & Production
Jason Lai
CONDUCTOR
Jason Lai is the Principal Conductor at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory, Principal Guest Conductor at the Orchestra of the Swan, and former Associate Conductor of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and Hong Kong Sinfonietta.
Jason has been a prominent fgure in Singapore’s musical life since his arrival in 2010, but also active internationally giving masterclasses in Europe and China. He has also guest conducted the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, New Japan Philharmonic, Podlasie Opera Philharmonic in Poland, Macao Orchestra, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, and Hong Kong Philharmonic.
Intent on broadening the appeal of classical music to audiences who would not normally think of going into a concert hall, Jason has built a unique reputation as a communicator with mass appeal through his television appearances in both the UK and Asia. He has appeared on the BBC as a judge in both the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition and the classical talent show Classical Star. He was also a conducting mentor in the series Maestro and won the competition with his celebrity protégé.
Since settling in Singapore he has continued with his television work and was presenter and conductor for Project Symphony, an eight part series which followed him in his quest to set up a community orchestra. Other shows for BBC World News include Heart of Asia exploring the contemporary arts and culture scene in Thailand, Indonesia, Korea and the Philippines, and Tales from Modern China, a voyage through contemporary China. Most recently in Singing to Remember for Channel News Asia, Jason set out to test the theory that regular group singing in choirs helps slow down the damaging effects of dementia.
Orchestral Institute
FIRST VIOLIN
Edgar Javier Lucena
Rodriguez, Concertmaster
Hoi Khai Weing
Wu Tsai-Jou
Syu Cheng-Yi
Chien Hsin
Huang Chia-Ying
Zhao Tongzhou
Chen Yun-Li
Bakhodir Rakhimov
Sun Zhenyao
Peng Yiyang
Chen Hui^
Chen Yi-Tien
Gao Wei Tina
Xu Zhuorui
SECOND VIOLIN
Teo Wei En Reina, Principal
Aureitsevich Natallia
Li Hao
Tsao Wei-Chun
Chen Shu-Yu
Feng Jiale
Viktoria Ivaylova Marinova
Yeo See Kang
Renee Toh
Andrea Lin^
Sun Zhenyao
Zhang Hanzhi
Lin Yi-Hsuan
VIOLA
Lee Wei-Fan, Principal
Huang Yi
Xiao Lei
Cher Zhi Xian Timothy
Caitlin Chin Kai Li
Kung Yu-Ning
Pao Yu-Lin
Yu Yang
Chan Shee Ann Shannon
Liu Xuanyu
Claudia Khang Loo An
Wu Haiping
Lu Mina
CELLO
Sim Yein, Principal
Chang Jia-Yun
Wang Jiaye
Lai Shin-Yen
Chua Yi Jun Eugene
Guo Mingai
Liu You-Yu
Liu Yiduo
Cao Huiying
Saran Charoennit Chen Pei-Yi
Wu Zuhui
Zhu Zeyu
Sherzod Bakhtiyorov
DOUBLE BASS
Ng Lai Ting, Principal
Wang Mingyuan**, Principal
Cheng Hsu-You
Yuan Moer
Loewe Lim Li Tong
Guennadi Mouzyka*
Huang Yung-Ting
Hibiki Otomo
Julian Li^
FLUTE _______________________________
Wen Tzu-Ling, Principal
Weng Yi-Chian, Principal
Oh Seonyoung
Lee Yu Xian Natasha
OBOE _______________________________
Reynard Ardian Simanjuntak, Principal
Sho Yong Shuen, Principal
Valentino Gerry Febrian Banggul
CLARINET
Chua Jay Roon, Principal
Ma Yi-Ting, Principal
Zhang Liangliang
Hayden Chung-Hei Butt
BASS CLARINET _______________________________
Yang Jinliang
BASSOON
Zhong Tianai, Principal
Rachel Ng Wei Ting, Principal
Wen Xiyu
Liu Jiayu
FRENCH HORN _______________________________
Lin Shu-Yu, Principal
Yeh Shih-Hsin, Principal
Lau En Qi Chloe, Principal
Gao Xiaoxuan
Harsharon Kaur
Chai Mei Qin
TRUMPET
Loi Chiang Kang, Principal
Chiu Fang-Meng, Principal
Aw Ping Hui
Chanan Mallanoo
TROMBONE _______________________________
Ong Aun Guan, Principal
Huang Shao-Wei
BASS TROMBONE
Low Kim Ven
TUBA _______________________________
Yang Junxiang
TIMPANI _______________________________
Isabel Chin Chun En
Kuo Yan-Shin
PERCUSSION _______________________________
Chen Yi-Chung
Kuo Yan-Shin
Evelyn Kuo Chan
Jeremy Ng Chuan Kai
PIANO _______________________________
Chakrit Kahnonvej
^Alumni/Guest Musician
*Artist Faculty
*Teaching Assistant
Administration
ORCHESTRAL INSTITUTE
Vice Dean of Ensembles
Brett Stemple
Orchestra Manager
Yap Zi Qi
Teaching Assistant
Wang Mingyuan
PROGRAMMING COMMITTEE
Committee Chair
Brett Stemple
Committee Members
Abigail Sin
Faezah Zulkifi
Jason Lai
Karst de Jong
Kenny Ooi
Khoo Hui Ling
Lim Yan
Ong Shu Chen
Qin Li-Wei
Yap Zi Qi
PRODUCTIONS
Production Coordinators
Wan Zhong Hao
Benny Lim
Technical & Operations Manager
Mike Tan
DEAN’S OFFICE
Artistic Coordinator & Strategic Project Manager
Kenny Ooi
Communications Offce
Ong Shu Chen
Faezah Zulkifi
