www.sso.org.sgMCI (P) 195/07/2015

THE QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF THE SINGAPORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

APRIL 2016 VOL. 17 / NO. 2

Charles Dutoit makes SSO debut

SSO premieres work by Chen Zhangyi

Interviews with Christine Rice & Cédric Tiberghien

More than just luck – Marietta Ku

SSO NEWS

03

MAHLER’S THIRD The SSO and Lan Shui partnered mezzo-soprano Sasha

Cooke, the ladies of the Singapore Symphony Chorus and

the NAFA Chamber Choir, as well as the Singapore Symphony

Children’s Choir to bring Mahler’s grand Third Symphony to

life at the Esplanade Concert Hall on January 16. The gala

concert ended with rousing applause and multiple standing

ovations.

Acknowledging the applause

10

SSO News

CONTENTS

BraviSSimO! is published by the Singapore

Symphony Orchestra. Printed by First Printers.

No part of this publication may be reproduced

in any form without the written permission of

the publisher.

03 SSO News

08 Conrad Celebrities: Christine Rice & Cedric Tiberghien

13

Backstage

14

Symphony Society

EDITOR

Cindy Lim

cindy@sso.org.sg

WRITERS

Hong Shu Hui

Melissa Tan

Cheryl Pek

ON THE COVER

Charles Dutoit makes

SSO debut

CHARLES DUTOIT MAKES SSO DEBUT

Swiss conductor Charles Dutoit made a highly anticipated

SSO debut in a sold-out concert at the Esplanade Concert

Hall on January 23, partnering German violinist Arabella

Steinbacher in an enthralling rendition of Prokofiev’s Second

Violin Concerto. Maestro Dutoit also led the orchestra in

Ravel’s Rapsodie espagnole and Saint Saëns’ grand Third

Symphony, featuring Margaret Chen on the organ. The

concert ended with an outpouring of zealous applause from

the audience.

Charles Dutoit with vionlinist Arabella Steinbacher

SSO IN THE GARDENSAs part of the SPH Gift of Music Series sponsored by

the Singapore Press Holdings, the SSO performed

at Gardens by the Bay on March 13. Despite the

persistent downpour, 1,500 enthusiastic audience

members braved the wet weather with umbrellas

and ponchos to catch the hour-long concert. SSO

Associate Conductor Jason Lai led the orchestra in

a charming selection of well-loved tunes such as

Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake Suite, Johann Strauss II’s On

the Beautiful Blue Danube and Yumeji’s Theme from

Wong Kar-Wai’s film, In the Mood for Love.

SSO at the Gardens by the Bay

(right top) Associate Conductor Jason Lai

(right bottom) Lillian Wang (second violin),

Tan Wee-Hsin (viola), Chan Wei Shing (cello),

Karen Tan (first violin) and Christoph Wichert

(bassoon)

SSO NEWSSSO NEWS

0504

www.sso.org.sg/ssyc

Be part of an exciting new youth ensemble under the Singapore Symphony Orchestra! Sing a myriad of works from symphony masterpieces to contemporary music of the 21st century.

Date & Time

16 May 16Mon, from 6pm

Audition slots will be pre-allocated

AUdITionFor theSINGAPoreSymphonyYoUTh Choir!

To register, please visit www.sso.org.sg/ssycRegistration closes on Monday, 9 May 16.

Ages

18 – 28

Any questions? choral@sso.org.sg Ms Kathleen Oei at 6602 4241 SingaporeSymphonyYouthChoir

VenueVictoria Concert Hall

A $10 audition fee applies

SingaporeSymphonyYouthChoir

AMERICA, AMERICA!The Singapore National Youth

Orchestra presented a sold-out concert

America, America! at the Victoria

Concert Hall on March 19. The concert

was graced by Guest-of-honour Ms

Low Yen Ling, Parliamentary Secretary,

Ministry of Education & Ministry

of Trade and Industry. Programme

highlights included Bernstein’s Candide

Overture, Copland’s Apalacchian Spring,

and Williams’ Star Wars Suite. Favourite

characters from the Star Wars movie

also made a special appearance at the

concert, to the delight of the audience.

Principal Conductor Leonard Tan

and the SNYO

SSO NEWSSSO NEWS

SSO PREMIERES WORK BY CHEN ZHANGYIHomegrown composer Chen Zhangyi’s of an ethereal

symphony received its world premiere on January 9,

as the opening piece in SSO’s first concert of the year.

The composition was written for SSO’s 2016 European

tour and was very well-received by the appreciative

audience. Violinist Yang Tianwa gave a polished

playing of Mendelssohn’s beloved Violin Concerto in

E minor. In the second half of the concert, Maestro Lan

Shui directed the orchestra in the Suite from Richard

Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier and Ravel’s La Valse.

Yang Tianwa taking on Mendelssohn’s Violin

Concerto

Singaporean composer Chen Zhangyi

0706

SHANGHAI ORCHESTRA ACADEMY For the second year running, the SSO hosted students

from the Shanghai Orchestra Academy over three weeks

in January. Apart from participating in the SSO’s rehearsals

and concerts, violist Zhang Siyuan and double bassist Ma

Suisui also received mentorship from their section principals,

Zhang Manchin and Guennadi Mouzyka. Both musicians

played in three SSO concerts at the Esplanade Concert Hall:

‘Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto’, ‘Gala: Mahler’s Third’ and

‘Charles Dutoit & Arabella Steinbacher’.

(top left) Zhang Si Yuan (second from left) with the SSO

viola section

(top right) Ma Suisui (third from left) with the SSO

double bass section

(bottom right) Music Director Lan Shui (centre) with

SOA students Ma Suisui and Zhang Siyuan

EUROPE 2016Come May 21, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra under its Music Director Lan Shui

will embark on a 5-city tour of Germany and Prague. This highly anticipated tour will

include appearances at the Dresden Music Festival and the Prague Spring International

Music Festival in Czech Republic, as well as concerts in the Berlin Philharmonie,

Munich Gasteig and Mannheim Rosengarten. Sharing the stage with the SSO are cellist

Jan Vogler and violinists Gil Shaham and Arabella Steinbacher. The tour repertoire

will include Singaporean composer Chen Zhangyi’s of an ethereal symphony,

Der Rosenkavalier Suite by Richard Strauss and Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht.

“I’m very sensitive to the keys, their colours, their moods. In

the first half (C minor & C major), I felt almost like a painter

working in dark or bright lighting. I’ve always loved the C

major key, and the Waldstein Sonata is one of the most

beautiful examples. It’s such a perfect and healthy key: energy,

life, up, up, up!”

“With Chopin, we start with C major and travel through all

the possible keys, through miniatures, each being an entire

world (even if it is only 17 bars long!). It’s getting darker until

the very last prelude, a dramatic example of darkness and

passion, ending in a spectacular fall to the very bottom of the

keyboard... Unforgettable!”

Cindy Lim

The Singapore International Piano Festival takes place at

the Victoria Concert Hall from June 23 to 26.

Tickets available from SISTIC.

As a postgraduate student working on her PhD in physics

at Oxford’s Balliol College, Christine Rice never imagined

she would one day grace the stages of the world’s most

prestigious opera houses. The daughter of a chemistry

lecturer, Rice says her decision to take a gap year after

completing her research at Oxford turned her life around.

Says the British mezzo-soprano: “I was working on a project

that involved analysis of satellite data, which meant long hours

at my computer alone. The physics itself was rewarding, but

the lifestyle did not suit my personality so well. I like to be part

of a team. I had always acted in plays and sung in the odd

musical, and had some classical music background, playing

the violin and piano. So I embarked on a year at music college

to train my voice for classical singing.”

After four years at the Royal Northern College of Music, she

landed her first singing job with the Glyndebourne Chorus,

before joining the English National Opera. At Glyndebourne,

one of her first roles was Carmen, which she will perform with

the Singapore Symphony Orchestra under Lan Shui on April

22 and 23.

“Carmen is one of my favourite roles. It is wonderful to sing

and a fantastic part to act. She is such an enigma. Each

singer must find her own version of who Carmen is. It’s

very personal. Each time it is new; with a di¬erent cast the

chemistry changes,” shares Rice.

From physics school to Covent Garden

Loving life’s little surprises

Christine Rice Cédric Tiberghien

This summer Rice is deeply excited about her appearance at

the Salzburg Festival, where she will be a part of the world

premiere of The Exterminating Angel, an opera in two acts by

Thomas Ades based on Luis Bruñel’s film.

The 45-year-old singer says she is still in touch with her

physics side, and she remains a member of the Institute of

Physics in the UK. Despite a flourishing career that is taking

her places, Rice remains close to her family.

“Organising a family from a distance is no mean feat, but

skype and such have transformed the experience and it is

not impossible for me to contribute on a daily basis with

homework and bedtime stories over the ether. The rewards

are also there when, during the holidays, my four children

come and join me and see new places and meet new people.”

Cindy Lim

Catch Bizet’s Carmen in the Esplanade Concert Hall on

April 22 & 23. Tickets available from SISTIC.

CONRAD

CELEBRITIES

CONRAD

CELEBRITIES

08 09

Since winning the first prize at the Long-Thibaud Competition

in Paris in 1998, French pianist Cédric Tiberghien has enjoyed

a flourishing international career. His latest CD release, a

recital disc of Szymanowski’s music on Hyperion, earned

unanimous praise from reviewers.

Says Tiberghien: “My career keeps me away from home. When

I’m home in Paris, I reduce as much as I can my practice time,

so that I spend as much time as possible with my wife and

4-year-old son. It means of course I have to work more when

I’m travelling. I spend hours in rehearsal studios instead of

sightseeing.”

“I grew up in the countryside in the north of Paris. Even after

more than 20 years in this city, I’m still amazed by its beauty. I

keep discovering areas I don’t know. I keep being surprised in

my own city. I love gardening, watching movies and reading

novels. I’m currently reading an autobiography of Mark Twain

– a fascinating journey through the history of America!”

The 41-year-old musician will appear at the Singapore

International Piano Festival on June 26, performing Mozart’s

Piano Sonata No. 14 in C minor, Beethoven’s Piano Sonata

No. 21 in C major (‘Waldstein’) as well as Chopin’s 24 Preludes.

This will be his Singapore debut.

SSO NEWS SSO NEWS

MUSIC FOR SPRINGTIME 86-year-old Chinese conductor

Zheng Xiao Ying led the SSO in two

sold-out performances in the Victoria

Concert Hall on February 19 and 20.

Coinciding with the Chinese New Year

celebrations, the concerts featured a

selection of well-known compositions

including the Spring Festival Overture,

A Tone Picture of Border Village, Liang

Xiao, Sainaim Rhapsody Symphonic

Poem and a modern take on three

familiar folk songs. SSO’s Associate

Concertmaster Kong Zhao Hui was

the formidable soloist in the meltingly

beautiful Butterfly Lovers Concerto. To

the great delight of the audience, they

were treated to an encore of Hua Hao

Yue Yuan.

CASADESUS CONDUCTS SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE

On March 5, guest conductor Jean-Claude Casadesus

returned to lead the SSO in a performance of Symphonie

Fantastique at the Esplanade Concert Hall. The concert

also featured violinist Valeriy Sokolov in an exhilarating

interpretation of Brahms’ Violin Concerto.

(left) Casadesus conducting the SSO in Symphonie

Fantastique

(right) Violin soloist Valeriy Sokolov

1110

LEARNING MUSIC HISTORY WITH JASON The ever-popular Concerts for Children series

concluded its 15/16 season with three sessions

of Jason’s Short Guide to Music History at the

Victoria Concert Hall over two days on March 18

and 19. Associate Conductor Jason Lai transformed

the concert hall into a time-travelling machine

as the audience journeyed back in time to learn

the stories behind some well-known pieces such

Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 3, Beethoven’s Pastoral

Symphony, Debussy’s Clair de Lune and Bernstein’s

Mambo from West Side Story. The audience even had

the chance to compose their own music inspired by

the wind, rain and waves!

Associate Conductor Jason Lai, actor Chad

O’Brien and the SSO sharing the same stage

Kong Zhao Hui with maestro Zheng Xiao Ying

BACKSTAGE

Marietta Ku

More than just luck

Becoming a professional musician has

always been a natural path for SSO

violist Marietta Ku, since she was young.

Born to a musical family in Singapore,

her mother was a singer-pianist, and

four of her aunts were piano teachers.

Her father was an avid listener of

classical music, and the only member

in her family who was not musically

trained. The piano thus became her first

childhood toy.

Laughing, she shared, “My eldest brother

Timothy is the famed piano guru, while

my second brother is a businessman

cum church pianist. The happiest social

activity with siblings and good friends is

slogging through Brahms’ Piano Quartet

and bickering over a rubato.”

Marietta was mesmerised by the violin

at the age of four, and it took her a few

years of pleading and wailing before she

was granted violin lessons. The viola

came after she auditioned for a SSO-

PSC scholarship, at the advice of Choo

Hoey, the SSO’s Music Director at that

time.

Besides her work with the SSO, Marietta

also teaches regularly at Nanyang

Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), and

conducts string ensembles from School

of the Arts (SOTA), Ra³es Institution (RI)

and Ra³es Girls’ School.

“My teaching philosophy is very much

influenced by my viola professor

Roger Tapping, who is the epitome of

discipline. Frankly there is no shortcut to

achieving fluency in an instrument, and

I may only endeavour to encourage the

younger generation by practising what I

advocate.”

Every bit the strict teacher, she added, “I

do not mind being hated at the present,

so long as twenty years down the road

these students are still playing and

enjoying music.”

Marietta believes that to work where

one’s passion lies lends more meaning

to one’s existence. Her hobbies include

reading classics, with Charles Dickens

topping her list, followed by Sir Pelham

Grenville Wodehouse and Lu Xun.

Marietta with viola professor

Roger Tapping

Marietta with siblings Timothy

(violin) and Anthony, aged 4 to 7

Marietta at the rolling hills of

Cotswolds, UK

When she was 19, her relocation to

the United Kingdom for her musical

studies brought on a new set of

scenery for Marietta. Despite being a

self-proclaimed acrophobe with a fear

of heights, she acquired a taste for

mountain trekking after accompanying

her friends on a trip to Snowdonia. “No,

it did not cure my phobia – I still cling

to the rocks when the gale strikes,”

she laughed. “But the promise of

breathtaking scenery forever beckons.”

Cheryl Pek

SSO NEWS

MUSIC FOR LUNCHTIMEThe Singapore Symphony Orchestra and Associate

Conductor Jason Lai opened this year’s Gift of Music series

sponsored by Singapore Press Holdings with a lunchtime

concert held at the Victoria Concert Hall on March 10.

Playing to a full-capacity crowd of 700, the audience got

to experience the Waltz and Minuet through the ages with

beautiful compositions such as On the Beautiful Blue Danube

and Yumeiji’s Theme from the film In the Mood for Love.

CLASSICS ON CAMPUS!800 students and families alike had a great start to the

March school holidays when the Singapore Symphony

Orchestra and Associate Conductor Jason Lai performed

at the Paya Lebar Methodist Girls’ School (Secondary) on

March 11. The a¬able conductor kept audiences engaged

and entertained with nuggets of interesting trivia in

between orchestral pieces such as the Swan Lake Suite

by Tchaikovsky, and excerpts from Beethoven’s Seventh

Symphony and Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony.

1312

SYMPHONY SOCIETY SYMPHONY SOCIETY

SSO TURNS

To mark the special occasion of its 37th anniversary, the

Singapore Symphony Orchestra celebrated with a special

concert on January 29, featuring homegrown conductor

Darrell Ang and pianist Melvyn Tan in Mozart’s Piano

Concerto No. 22. The concert opened with local composer

Koh Cheng Jin’s Horizons for Orchestra, and closed with

Richard Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben. The concert was sponsored

by Tote Board and Singapore Turf Club. Over 300 guests were

invited to celebrate the occasion.

Mrs & Mr Goh Yew Lin, Mr & Mrs Moses Lee, Mrs & HE Haruhisa Takeuchi Mr Douglas Benjamin &

Mrs Odile Benjamin

Pianist Melvyn Tan with the SSO

Tay Tak Kwang, Dr. Lee Suan Yew, Margaret Chew, Prof Cham Tao Soon &

Semone Opper

Warm applause for young composer Koh Cheng Jin

14

Ms Li Yue Zhi & Mr Zhong Liu

Anthony Wong, Leong Wai Leng & Han Jok Kwang

37

15

16

WWW.PIANOFESTIVAL.COM.SG

TICKETS $14 – $76 from SISTIC

(6348 5555 / www.sistic.com.sg)Booking fees apply

Jean Efflam

Bavouzet

Boris

Giltburg

Shai

Wosner

Cédric

Tiberghien

The 23rd Singapore

International Piano Festival

presents Kaleidoscope! , a showcase of the

vast, dazzling palette of wonderful tone colours

possible on one of the most versatile instruments in

the world. Like master painters, four internationally-

renowned pianists will command their virtuoso

resources to bring a collection of classic scores to

vibrant life!

PRESENTED BY OFFICIAL AIRLINEOFFICIAL HOTEL

23RD SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL

PIANO FESTIVAL:

Kaleidoscope!23 – 26 JUN 2016VICTORIA CONCERT HALL