May Day concert at the IstanaMother’s Day concert at the Botanic GardensBritten’s War Requiem gets Singapore premiereJason Lai on the magic of film music

www.sso.org.sg

Katia & Marielle Labèque with the SSO

The Quarterly Newsletter of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra

Bravissimo!JULY 2013 Vol. 14 No. 3 MICA (P) 050/07/2013

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.

Contents

SSO News 03

Conrad Celebrities: 08Jason Lai & Valeriy Sokolov

Symphony Society 10

Piano Festival & A Kitchen Symphony 14

CD Reviews 15

The Autograph Collector 16

On the cover: The Labèque Sisters looking resplendent after a dazzling performance of the Poulenc Concerto for Two Pianos at the Esplanade Concert Hall.

Photography by Collin Tan

Editors: Cindy Lim Chang Tou Liang

Writer: Joyce Tan

EditorialThe SSO’s 2012/13 season saw a good number of musical triumphs and successes, including the Singapore premiere of Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem, a musical blockbuster played out by two orchestras, three soloists and a 200-strong combined chorus.

As we embrace the start of the SSO’s 2013/14 season, we bring you conversations with the young Russian violinist Valeriy Sokolov, and SSO’s newly appointed Associate Conductor Jason Lai, who waxes lyrical on his soft spot for film music.

Happy reading!

CINDY LIMEditorcindy@sso.org.sg

Conrad Celebrities 08

Conrad Celebrities 09

Symphony Society 10

SSO News 05

sso n

ew

s

Conductor Joshua Tan

May Day at the IstanaConductor Joshua Tan and the SSO spent Labour Day with over 10,000 visitors at the Istana, giving an hour-long performance of familiar tunes such as Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man, Bernstein’s Overture to Candide and Fauré’s Pavane, which was attended by President Tony Tan Keng Yam and Mrs Mary Tan. This event was made possible by the support of Singapore Press Holdings as part of the SPH Gift of Music series. !

President Tony Tan waving to the audience

Cheered by the music

04 bravissimo!

Mother’s Day concert

!

Over 6,000 people showed up for the SSO Mother’s Day Concert at the Singapore Botanic Gardens on May 12. The orchestra entertained the enthusiastic crowd with such familiar favourites as Laideronnette, Princess of the Pagodas from Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite, Dvor ák’s Songs My Mother Taught Me and The Moon Represents My Heart, featuring Alexander Souptel on solo violin. This concert was sponsored by the Tan Chin Tuan Foundation as part of its Music-For-All series.

Conductor Joshua Tan

Cheerful faces all around

The SSO’s Mother’s Day Concert drew a huge crowd

bravissimo! 05

!

Britten’s War RequiemApril 5 marked the Singapore premiere of Benjamin Britten’s monumental masterpiece, the War Requiem, as the SSO and Music Director Lan Shui joined orchestras worldwide in celebrating the composer’s birth centenary in 2013.

Playing at the Esplanade Concert Hall to a full-capacity audience, the SSO was joined by soloists Elena Zelenskaya, Barry Banks and Detlef Roth, a 200-strong combined chorus which included guests from the Shanghai Opera House Chorus, and the Singapore Symphony Children’s Choir which was perched high up in the left wing on Circle 2. The chamber orchestra was directed by Lim Yau.

Taking a bowBehind the scenes during the Open Rehearsal

Sonic spectacular

bravissimo!

School’s out, SSO’s inThe SSO was joined by a special guest, piano virtuoso Stephen Hough, for its campus concerts at the School of the Arts and Victoria Junior College on May 22 and 23. Performing to a total audience of 1,200, conductor Darrell Ang led Hough and the orchestra in excerpts from Mussorgsky’s famous Pictures at an Exhibition, as well as two brilliant variations of the Paganini Caprice No. 24 – Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and Lutoslawski’s Variations on a Theme by Paganini.

06 bravissimo!

Paya Lebar Methodist Girls’ School (Secondary)

School groups waiting for the doors to open at SOTA

Victoria Junior College students posing for a picture with Stephen Hough

Stephen Hough with the SSO at SOTA

!

bravissimo! 07

Stephen Hough performing at Victoria Junior College

New release: Goldmark’s Rustic Wedding Symphony

!

Mainly known today for his violin concerto, during his lifetime the Hungarian composer Karl Goldmark was praised for the quality of his instrumentation, his skilful use of folk music and his own Jewish heritage, and his evident gift for melody. Composed in 1875, his Rustic Wedding Symphony was his most popular orchestral work. The five-movement symphony has sometimes been described as a suite of tone poems, including a wedding march with variations depicting the wedding guests, a nuptial song and a bucolic wedding dance.

Composed some ten years later, Goldmark’s E-flat major Symphony, Op. 35, is less well-known. Although its form is more traditional than that of its predecessor, it is similar in mood – bucolic and high-spirited – and provides rich opportunities to sample Goldmark’s skill as an orchestrator and musical colourist.

Available from the SSO merchandise cart during concerts from August 2013.

CO

NR

AD

CE

LE

BR

ITIE

S

Jason Lai will conduct the SSO Pops Concert: Let’s Go To The Movies on August 16 at the Esplanade Concert Hall.

!

Jason Lai was particularly fascinated by movies of the Sci-fi and documentary genre and recalls constructing a “cinema” out of Lego bricks when he was a child. The UK born-and-bred conductor recounts the wonderful and precious movie-going experience during his childhood: “I was hooked the moment I caught E.T: The Extra Terrestrial, it was such a great experience – the lights went down, the curtains opened, then the magic began, and I happily ate my popcorn and drank my soda! Such wonderful memories....”

Come August 16, Jason Lai, who is the SSO’s Associate Conductor, will direct the very first SSO Pops Concert at the Esplanade Concert Hall, performing themes from science fiction films such as E.T: The Extra Terrestrial, Star Wars, blockbuster action flicks like Raiders of the Lost Ark, Superman, as well as Grammy award-winning music from Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan.

“A composer like John Williams is a genius,” says Lai. “He’s able to capture the essence of the film in very few notes and harmonies and it just fits the movie – this takes considerable skill. An excellent example is the two-note motif for the shark in Jaws. Just two slow notes first. Then repeated. Faster. And faster....arghh the shark is coming!”

Having studied composition at Oxford University and been a finalist of the BBC Young Composers Award, Lai recalls the meticulous tasks of adequately comprehending the storyline and matching the music to far more specific moods and selected scenes in the movie, a far more tedious process than what many people may imagine it to be.

“I’ve always been fascinated with film music and how it interacts with the visuals, and as a composer I’ve tried writing music for movies. The composer’s job is very difficult as their music can help a movie or destroy it, they have to tread a very fine line between overpowering and underplaying the visuals,” he reiterates.

Lai feels that it is essential for any orchestra to have a “varied diet of music” as most great orchestras around the world play all kinds of music for various groups of audiences.

“You would be surprised how much film music is actually classical music or at least inspired by classical music. I think audiences love film music as it is quite accessible and there is always a story behind the music.”

Joyce Tan

JASON LAI

Hooked on film music

Conrad Centennial Singapore offers a choice of exciting wining and dining venues. Dine on contemporary Cantonese cuisine and innovative dim sum creations by top Hong Kong chefs at award - winning Golden Peony. Oscar’s offers delicious buffets for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as a delectable Amazing Graze Sunday brunch with free flow champagne, wine and beer. Oscar’s is open 24 hours. Or savour delightful afternoon tea and Executive lunch at Lobby Lounge.

26-year-old Valeriy Sokolov has played the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D major many times, and made a recording of it in 2011 with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich under David Zinman for EMI/Virgin Classics. Yet he says he does not tire of the piece: “The music of great composers, like Tchaikovsky, is always fresh and full of inspiration and beauty, as it is what we call great music.”

The Ukrainian violinist will make his Singapore debut playing this violin showpiece at the Esplanade Concert Hall on August 2. His other recordings include Enescu’s Sonata No. 3 with pianist Svetlana Kosenko as well as a DVD recording of the Sibelius Violin Concerto with Vladimir Ashkenazy and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.

He says the music of yet another Russian composer holds a special place in his heart. “Sergei Prokofiev and some of his music that was composed between the 1930s and 1940s are in some way my favourite, because the works were composed under a regime which imposed extreme restriction on free thinking and so the music itself is extremely strong and expressive.”

Of his busy schedule – he flies to Barcelona and Santander in Spain for concerts after his Singapore stop – Sokolov says: “I

enjoy it. However I spent some years finding the right balance of work and breaks in between. It is different with every musician.”

Indeed he balances rehearsals and practice sessions, which already take up many hours a day, with his favourite activities such as swimming, hiking and playing football. Every now and now he goes to Vienna to take lessons from his teacher to better his playing. He adds: “Being passionate every time about the piece that you are about to play also helps in the musical sense as there is always a way to be better.”

Cindy Lim

!

VALERIY SOKOLOV

The beauty of Tchaikovsky

Catch Valeriy Sokolov live with the SSO at the Esplanade Concert Hall on August 2.

bravissimo! 09

sym

ph

on

y s

oc

iet

ysy

mp

ho

ny

so

cie

ty

!

Opera Paradiso raises $889,050 for SSO

Over 300 distinguished guests joined President Tony Tan Keng Yam and Mrs Mary Tan for the Singapore Symphony Orchestra Benefit Dinner on April 20. Held at the John Jacob Ballroom of the St Regis Singapore, the dazzling black-tie fundraiser titled Opera Paradiso raised $889,050 for the SSO.

Guests showed their support by bidding for the three items on the silent auction: a Piaget Altiplano Anniversary Edition timepiece, a Damiani white gold pendant with diamonds and a Daum Black and Chrome Collection Cheval Porteur de Feu. Making a sensational debut with the SSO and conductor Darrell Ang was star soprano Hayley Westenra, who showcased her angelic voice in favourite vocal showpieces including Whispers in a Dream, May It Be, Scarborough Fair, Cinema Paradiso, Amazing Grace and I Dreamed A Dream.

Hayley Westenra

bravissimo! 11

Ms Hayley Westenra, Mrs Mary Tan, President Tony Tan Keng Yam & Mr Darrell Ang

Members of the SSO Ladies’ League with President Tony Tan & Mrs Mary Tan

Mr Wee Ee Cheong & Mr Goh Yew Lin

Mr Christopher Ho & Mrs Rosy Ho

Darrell Ang with the SSO

sym

ph

on

y s

oc

iet

y

Prof & Mrs Cham Tao Soon, Mr & Mrs Wee Ee Cheong & Mr & Mrs David Conner

Mr Darrell Ang with Mr & Mrs Choo Chiau BengMr & Mrs Loh Chin Hua with Ms Wang Look Fung

Mr & Mrs Julian Chang

Ms Paige Parker, Mr Jim Rogers & Ms Susanna Kang

bravissimo! 13

Mrs Laura Hwang & Mrs Dorothy Chan

Mr & Mrs Samuel Benjamin

Mr Foo Chen Loong & Mr Bobby Tonelli

Mr & Mrs Alan Wang

Mrs Odile Benjamin & Mr Douglas Benjamin

Ms Donna Meyer & Mrs Clarinda Tjia-Dharmadi-Martin

bravissimo!14 bravissimo!

Music and movement The 20th edition of the Singapore International Piano Festival showcased four prominent young pianists in recital at the School of the Arts Concert Hall from June 20 to 23. Opening the festival was Russian-born Yevgeny Sudbin, who dedicated one half of his recital to the music of Franz Liszt. Taking on Book I of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier on June 21 was South African pianist Daniel-Ben Pienaar. The third evening featured 20-year-old Benjamin Grosvenor in a programme which included colourful Spanish dances by Granados and the Arabesques Variations on the Blue Danube Waltz. Bringing the festival to a close was Macedonian pianist Simon Trpceski in a programme featuring Schubert’s 16 German Dances as well as the Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C-sharp minor.

Simon Trpceski Yevgeny Sudbin Daniel-Ben Pienaar

!

Benjamin Grosvenor

!

A kitchen symphony SSO Co-Leader Lynnette Seah rolled up her sleeves to cook for over 25 Friends of the SSO at Rubato Modern Italian Trattoria on May 15. The cosy 5-course dinner included items such as grilled squid stuffed with mushroom risotto, roasted pumpkin and sweet potato soup, roast beef in red wine and vegetable ragu and Lynnette’s signature tiramisu.

Lynnette with Mr & Mrs Mark Sim

Lynnette at work in the kitchen

the Autograph collector

The latter half of Singapore Symphony Orchestra’s 2012-13 concert season

will be remembered for the “invasion of British glamour girls of the violin”.

They came, strutted their stuff, and conquered us all by their musicianship,

virtuosity and personalities. They also graciously met with their fans post-

concerto and the autograph lines were long.

NICOLA BENEDETTIFirst up was Nicola Benedetti who performed Korngold’s Violin Concerto on 1 & 2 February under the baton of Neeme Järvi. Of the three female fiddlers, she has the most extroverted inscription, full of waves and curls, with two kisses thrown in for good measure.

If you have any interesting autographs to share, please send a high-resolution scan and accompanying texts to: cindy@sso.org.sg. Happy autograph hunting!

CHLOË HANSLIPFormer child prodigy Chloë Hanslip’s second visit to Singapore (her first was in 2009) saw her performing Elgar’s Violin Concerto on 10 May. She has the most modest of inscriptions of the three, signing off with a greeting and just “Chloe”. This CD sleeve was of her stunning debut recording on Warner Classics from 2001.

JENNIFER PIKENot to be outdone was Jennifer Pike, who played Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5 in a concert of Turkish-influenced delights on 13 April, led by Christopher Hogwood. The wide strokes and letterings were a reflection of her big tone and warm-hearted personality to be found in her playing.

bravissimo! 15

CD

Rev

iew

sC

ourt

esy

of U

nive

rsal

Mus

ic S

inga

pore

WIN A COPY OF BRAHMS/ SCHUMANNBy answering the following questions:

1. Of what nationality was the great violinist Joseph Joachim?

2. Clara Schumann was how many years older than Johannes Brahms?

Please send your answers with the title BraviSSimO! Quiz to: cindy@sso.org.sg

Closing date: 31 August 2013The first three all-correct entries drawn on 1 September 2013 will be notified accordingly.

CD of the Quarter

BEETHOVEN: Violin Concerto / Piano Concerto No. 3ARTHUR GRUMIAUX violin

STEPHEN KOVACEVICH piano

BBC Symphony / Concertgebouw / Colin Davis

Decca 478 4027

Recorded by Philips in the early 1970s, these are well-loved versions of Beethoven’s popular concertos that have stood the test of time. Stephen Bishop (as Kovacevich was then known) gives a fresh and youthful account of the C minor Third Piano Concerto, while the beautiful tone coaxed by Belgian master Arthur Grumiaux in the D major Violin Concerto is hard to beat.

BIZET: Carmen Suite / L’Arlesienne SuitesOrchestre de l’Opéra Bastille / Myung-Whun Chung

Deutsche Grammophon 478 4034

Here is a selection of popular music in bite-sized movements from Frenchman Georges Bizet that are both melodious and memorable. His opera Carmen needs little introduction, and there are also eight movements from his incidental music to L’Arlesienne, concluding with the rip-roaring Farandole. As a bonus, the Suite from Jeux d’enfants (Children’s Games) has been included. Delightful stuff.

BRAHMS: Hungarian DancesDVOřáK Slavonic DancesBudapest Festival Orchestra / Ivan Fischer

Decca 478 4028

Brahms’s Hungarian Dances and Dvor ák’s Slavonic Dances were originally conceived for piano four hands. In their orchestral guises, these take on an added sheen and colour. This selection, 13 from Brahms and 8 from Dvor ák, includes the most familiar numbers. The Hungarian forces perform with zest and vitality, much needed for these rustic and rambunctious showpieces.

BRAHMS Violin ConcertoCLARA SCHUMANN: Romances

LISA BATIASHVILI violin

Staatskapelle Dresden / Christian Thielemann

Deutsche Grammophon 479 0086

Young Georgian violinist Lisa Batiashvili gives a lovely and sensitive account of Brahms’s evergreen Violin Concerto in D major (Op. 77), which has the added attraction of Max Reger’s rarely-performed cadenza. Unlike the far more familiar Joachim cadenza, this one is partially accompanied by orchestra and has a prominent part for the timpani. The violin virtuoso Joseph Joachim was also the inspiration for Clara Schumann’s Three Romances (Op. 22), which make a short but tuneful encore. This is a loving tribute to the platonic friendship of both composers.

The answers to last issue’s quiz were:1. Daniel Hope performed Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor (1844 version) at his SSO debut.2. TRUE. Gabriel Prokofiev is Sergei Prokofiev’s grandson.3. FALSE. Max Richter is no relation of Sviatoslav Richter.

The winners were Lau Jay Min Jasmine, Chiang Chiew Hui and Leonard Slamat.

CONGRATULATIONS!