www.sso.org.sgMCI (P) 195/07/2015
THE QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF THE SINGAPORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
JANUARY 2016 VOL. 17 / NO. 1
The SSO Babies’ Proms in the Victoria Concert Hall
Hélène Grimaud with the SSO
Interviews with Arabella Steinbacher & Valeriy Sokolov
East meets West in the Butterfly Lovers
SSO NEWS
03
MUSIC FOR BABIESAustralian conductor Peter Moore and the SSO returned to the
Victoria Concert Hall on November 28 and 29 for five sold-out
performances of the SSO Babies’ Proms. Their young audience
cheered, clapped and danced to rousing excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s
The Nutcracker Suite and Rossini’s William Tell Overture. A handful
of lucky children also had a chance to conduct the orchestra from
the podium.
<< A toddler meets Principal Tuba Hidehiro Fujita
Having fun before the concert
SSO Babies’ Proms with Peter Moore
10
SSO News
16 Backstage
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: Arabella Steinbacher & Valeriy Sokolov
12
Symphony Society
14
Focus on Symphonies
EDITOR
Cindy Lim
WRITERS
Hong Shu Hui
Melissa Tan
Cheryl Pek
ON THE COVER
The SSO Babies’ Proms in the
Victoria Concert Hall
IT’S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR The Singapore Symphony Children’s Choir (SSCC) and
Singapore Bible College Chorale (SBCC) joined Associate
Conductor Jason Lai and the SSO for three magnificent
evenings of Christmas music in the Victoria Concert Hall
on December 11, 12 and 13. Sponsored by the Tan Chin Tuan
Foundation, highlights of the SSO Christmas Concerts
included such favourites as John Rutter’s Christmas
Lullaby and Mary’s Lullaby, Humperdinck’s Prelude to
Hansel and Gretel, In dulci Jubilo and The Night Before
Christmas. The traditional sing-a-long saw audience
members singing carols such as Hark! The Herald Angels
Sing and Joy to the World.
Conductor Jason Lai leading the sing-a-long
segment
A NIGHT WITH RACHMANINOV The SSO’s all-Rachmaninov concert in the
Esplanade Concert Hall on October 30 played
to a 1800-strong audience. Argentinean
pianist Nelson Goerner gave a stirring
account of the popular Piano Concerto No.
2 in C minor, resulting in two well-received
encores: Scriabin’s Poeme in F sharp major
and Chopin’s Prelude in D minor. Music
Director Lan Shui also led the orchestra in
Scherzo in D minor and The Rock.
>> Nelson Goerner acknowledging
the applause
HÉLÈNE GRIMAUD RETURNS TO PLAY RAVEL
SSO NEWSSSO NEWS
Star pianist Hélène Grimaud returned to join the SSO for two gala
performances of Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G in the Victoria Concert
Hall on October 9 and 10. Guest conductor John Nelson also led the
orchestra for Mozart’s Symphony No. 39 and ballet music from
Idomeneo, as well as Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin.
(left) Guest conductor John Nelson
(right) Pianist Hélène Grimaud
0504
ONE FAMILY Over 150 musicians and management staff attended the SSO Annual Dinner in the
Conrad Centennial Singapore on October 28, with 15 receiving the Long Service
Award from SSCL Chairman Mr Goh Yew Lin. Recipients included Associate Principal
Oboe Pan Yun and violinist Priscilla Neo (30 years), as well as Second Violin Associate
Principal Michael Loh and violinist Foo Say Ming (25 years).
Pan Yun (right) receiving his award from Mr Goh Yew Lin
>> Alexander Souptel & Masako White
(left) Yu Jing & Jin Ta
(right) Chia Jit Min, Foo Chen Loong, Ernest Khoo & Lim Lip Hua
SSO NEWSSSO NEWS
EMILY SAVES THE ORCHESTRA Conductor Leonard Tan led the SSO in
sold-out performances of Emily Saves the
Orchestra featuring Platypus Theatre on
November 21 and 22 at the Victoria Concert
Hall. These Concerts for Children featured
familiar favourites such as Beethoven’s Ode
to Joy, Pachelbel’s Canon in D and Rossini’s
Overture to William Tell.
<< Drama, dance and costumes are
woven together in Emily Saves the
Orchestra
All four sessions of Emily Saves the
Orchestra played to full houses
0706
Valeriy Sokolov
After 11 years on the concert circuit, Arabella Steinbacher never
leaves home without packing her trusty travel hotplate into her
luggage, which she uses to prepare meals for herself in the
hotel room.
Says the 34-year-old violinist: “On free days, I enjoy very much
going out to nice restaurants, but on tour I became a bit too
tired to search for food. There is usually not much time before
a concert and since I have quite an unusual diet, it is easier for
me just to cook by myself in my hotel room.”
Born in Munich to musician parents – her German father
coached singers and her Japanese mother is a singer – it is
hardly surprising that a young Arabella grew to embrace music
wholeheartedly. She was given a violin at the age of three as
her parents felt their child was very active.
“Listening to my family making music at home had a great
influence on me, especially because it never looked like hard
work or something which took a big effort to do. Music was
just always around and for me it was completely natural to do
it as well.”
She continues to feel a deep connection to Japan, which she
considers her second home and where she has many warm
At home with
musicArabella
Steinbacher
memories of spending summers with her grandparents. In
January 2016 she will be in Asia to perform Prokofiev’s Second
Violin Concerto with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra under
Charles Dutoit.
In June last year, Arabella’s latest album ‘Mendelssohn and
Tchaikovsky – Violin Concertos’ with Orchestre Philharmonique
de la Suisse Romande and Charles Dutoit was released on
Pentatone Classics. “We work together regularly and are good
friends, which is wonderful for making music together as there
is a deep understanding.”
Cindy Lim
Catch Arabella Steinbacher live in concert with the
SSO and Charles Dutoit in the Esplanade Concert
Hall on January 23.
Book your tickets today at www.sistic.com.sg.
CONRAD
CELEBRITIES
CONRAD
CELEBRITIES
From Ukraine to England
08 09
As a child growing up in Kharkov, Ukraine, Valeriy Sokolov
remembers being kept busy with various lessons ranging from
English to ballet, before starting violin lessons in a music school
at the age of five.
“I grew up in an atmosphere of creativity and happiness despite
the rather turbulent times that post-Soviet Ukraine was going
through,” he noted. “Kharkov was a rather comfortable city and
we often went for a walk in a park and did all kinds of outdoor
activities. We may not have had many consumer goods but we
had good literature-related education. I only received my first
computer when I was around 16, when I was over that stage of
super-excitement.”
His life took a significant turn when, at 13, he moved to England
to study with Natalia Boyarskaya in the Yehudi Menuhin School.
“I was sent to school alone as my parents were happy to stay
home; and they knew that in such a high quality boarding school,
everything would be taken care of.”
“I was entering a new world back then and everything was
extremely special. This is a special memory that will stay with
me always as we were taught from young about the Western
culture and so to see it so early, and to stay and study there was
something special. I can now say the same about Asia which i
find equally wonderful and incredibly rich in what it offers a visitor
like myself.”
In March Valeriy will return to Singapore for his second
collaboration with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, playing
Brahms’ Violin Concerto in D major. “Singapore is a dream place,”
says the violinist. “I have tried and will try more of the food.
Singapore has an incredible aura of a cultural hub with a mix of
people from all over and it makes my experience very special
every time!”
Cindy Lim
Valeriy Sokolov performs with the SSO under Jean-
Claude Casadesus in the Esplanade Concert Hall on
March 5.
Book your tickets today at www.sistic.com.sg.
SSO NEWS SSO NEWS
SSCC EXPERIENCE The inaugural SSCC Experience, hosted by
the Singapore Symphony Children’s Choir,
was held at the Victoria Concert Hall on
September 10, during the week-long school
holidays. Over 130 children enjoyed the
opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge
of what it was like to sing in the choir. Led
by SSCC Choirmaster Wong Lai Foon and
Assistant Choirmaster Darius Lim, the
young singers, aged 8 to 15, were taught
vocal techniques and the art of choral
singing. The workshop ended on a high note
with the children sharing the VCH stage with
SSCC members for a concert presentation.
<< At home on stage
WOMEN’S TENNIS ASSOCIATION FINALS OPENING CEREMONY
For the second year running, the Singapore Symphony Children’s
Choir was invited to perform at the Women’s Tennis Association
Finals Opening Ceremony. Held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium
on November 25, the choir gave a rousing rendition of Majulah
Singapura.
At the WTA Finals
1110
THE CREATION Haydn’s great oratorio, The Creation,
came to life in the Victoria Concert
Hall on October 23 and 24, under
the baton of Maestro Lim Yau. The
Singapore Symphony Orchestra was
joined by the Singapore Symphony
Chorus, NAFA Chamber Choir,
soprano Larissa Krokhina, tenor
Martin Nyvall, baritone Kresimir
Strazanac and mezzo-soprano
Angela Hodgins.
Bringing Haydn’s great
oratorio to life
SYMPHONY SOCIETY SYMPHONY SOCIETY
Up close with Ashkenazy and Alexei Volodin
Over 30 Friends of the SSO got to meet
esteemed conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy
and guest pianist Alexei Volodin at a Meet-
the-Artist session after their sensational
gala performance in the Esplanade Concert
Hall on December 3. The all-Rachmaninov
programme had Ashkenazy leading the
orchestra for Symphonic Dances and
Vocalise, and featured Volodin in the ever-
popular Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor
which earned the pianist a standing ovation.
Two encores followed, Chopin’s Mazurka in
F minor, Op. 7 and Prokofiev’s Scherzo Op.
12, No. 10.
Alexei Volodin signing autographs
Mr & Mrs Ian Gay
Ms Aileen Tang, Ms Lydia Tay & Maestro Ashkenazy Mr & Mrs Haruhisa Takeuchi with Mr & Mrs Goh Yew Lin
1312
Mr Fermin Augusto Diez, Maestro Ashkenazy &
Ms Wong Su-Yen
Mr & Mrs Charles Moore, Mr Leo Frankel & Mr Mark Meaney
Amongst FriendsOver 40 guests attended the annual Conrad-SSO Amongst Friends
Dinner in the Grand Salon of the Conrad Centennial Singapore on
November 6. Hosted by Conrad’s General Manager Mr Mark Meaney
and SSO’s Chairman Mr Goh Yew Lin, an SSO quartet made up of
violinists Chan Yoong-Han and Karen Tan, violist Marietta Ku and
cellist Chan Wei Shing performed music by Gluck and Gardel, as
well as the lively Dance of the Yao People, which brought back fond
memories of the inaugural SSO concert in 1979.
Dr Todd On, Maestro Ashkenazy & Mr Wong Tze Chin
DISCOVERING MUSIC!
ALL ABOUT
SUITESJoshua Tan conductor
TICKETS: $20 from SISTIC Concessions: $15 | Family of 4 packages: $60
School groups (min. 4 tickets): $106348 5555 / www.sistic.com.sg | Booking fees apply
For school & group bookings, please call 6602 4226 or email [email protected]
31 JAN 16Sun, 4pm | Victoria Concert Hall
www.sso.org.sg
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Explore the fascinating world of orchestral suites with Associate Conductor Joshua Tan and the SSO turning the spotlight on three famous works that share a common thread of literary references.
FOCUS ON SYMPHONIES FOCUS ON SYMPHONIES
WHO
The Soviet-era Russian composer DMITRI
SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975) was one
of the great symphonic composers of
the 20th century. He grew up in Tsarist
Russia which was violently overthrown in
the 1917 Bolshevik revolution, ushering in
the Communist regime that soon proved
murderous and oppressive. His creativity,
which produced no less than 15 symphonies,
probably saved his life, although he received
censure and reward to an equal degree. As
an artist, he straddled gingerly between
expressing individual thoughts and toeing
the official party line.
WHO
The place of Frenchman HECTOR
BERLIOZ (1803-1869) as one of the great
early Romantics is without doubt. He
established the cult of the conductor, one
who specialised in organising concert
spectaculars which involved hundreds of
musicians and singers. His own works,
whether symphonies, operas and choral
works, often reflected that overreaching
megalomania. Although he was not a
virtuoso solo musician, he was a master
orchestrator. His Treatise On Orchestration
is still in print and remains a standard
reference for all composers.
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 7 “Leningrad” 26 February 2016
Esplanade Concert Hall
conducted by GENNADY ROZHDESTVENSKY
BERLIOZ Symphonie Fantastique5 March 2016
Esplanade Concert Hall
conducted by JEAN-CLAUDE CASADESUS
WHAT
Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony (1941-
42) was composed during the Nazi siege
of Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg),
which resulted in the deaths of a million
Russians. While Shostakovich and his family
were evacuated to safety, the score was
smuggled in the form of a microfilm to the
West where it was conducted by Henry
Wood (London) and Arturo Toscanini (New
York) in the summer of 1942. The most
amazing performance took place in the
ruins of Leningrad itself on 9 August 1942,
with Karl Eliasberg leading a ragtag band of
soldiers and survivors.
WHAT
Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique (1830)
is astonishingly precocious for a first
symphony. Its scope is ambitious,
unusually encompassing five movements
and playing for almost 50 minutes. Its
inspiration was his own obsession with
the Irish actress Harriet Smithson, whom
he wooed and eventually married (a union
which, unsurprisingly, ended in divorce).
A programme symphony, it depicts a
hopelessly in-love artist, whose passion
for his “Beloved” is a tumultuous journey of
infatuation, jealously, murder and a one-
way-trip to hell.
LISTEN FOR...
Its supposedly patriotic content, which
boosted morale during the war’s darkest
days, has been revealed by the composer
(through his memoirs Testimony, as dictated
to Solomon Volkov) to be a sham. The
symphony was about the Leningrad which
“Stalin destroyed and Hitler finished off”.
The long and contentious 1st movement
revolves around a repetitious and banal
march theme with a spiralling crescendo
(often compared with Ravel’s Bolero). Was
the German-influenced Tchaikovsky or
Lehar (reportedly a favourite composer
of Hitler’s) the source of inspiration? Is the
rowdy finale truly triumphant or merely a
showy facade?
LISTEN FOR...
Berlioz’s idee fixe (fixed idea), a recurrent
theme that appears in all the movements
but under different guises. Listen to how
this theme, initially chaste and winsome,
gets transformed into a wild and mocking
cackle in the finale (Dream of a Witches’
Sabbath). In between, he sees her in a
high society (A Ball) and in the countryside
(Scene in the Fields) before his execution
(March to the Scaffold). His “Beloved” had
turned into a vulgar old hag. Its is certain
that this compositional device had a great
influence on Richard Wagner and the use of
leitmotifs, each signifying particular subjects
and themes, in his great operas.
14
Gennady Rozhdestvensky Jean-Claude Casadesus
15
Chang Tou Liang
BACKSTAGE
Kong Zhao Hui
East meets West in the Butterfly Lovers
Catch Butterfly Lovers Concerto in
the Victoria Concert Hall on February
19 and 20.
Tickets available at www.sistic.com.sg.
Come February 19 and 20, SSO’s Associate Concertmaster Kong Zhao Hui will take centrestage in the Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto at the Victoria Concert Hall.
16
Kong performing with son Xianlong in Beijing’s Forbidden City Concert Hall.
Joining him and the SSO is respected Chinese
maestro Zheng Xiao Ying. The pair first
worked together in 1983.
No stranger to the concerto, Kong has
performed it over 100 times since 1987. “This
is a work inspired by a Chinese legend of
tragic love, written in the form of Western
classical music for a Western instrument, and
entwined with traditional Chinese elements,”
he explains. “The challenge is to strike a
balance between the Eastern and Western
components to bring out the flavour of the
music. I drew inspirations from the historical
background of the tale, and visited some of
the bridges and pavilions that appear very
often in Chinese literature. It helped me to see
what it might have been like in ancient times.”
Kong recalled a performance of the concerto
in Chengdu, back in 1988, where he noticed
a member of the audience crying silently. “I
knew then, that the music resonated with
him; it touched him. The element of tragedy
– whether in movies, books or art – is always
compelling and captivating,” he added. “The
best teachers for a performer are the stage
and the audience. Every performance brings
about a new apperception.”
From the age of five Kong started lessons
with his violinist father, whose guidance he
remains grateful for. “He taught my children
and my sister’s children the violin too, so his
influence spans three generations.”
Kong is married to Yin Shu Zhan, who is
also a violinist with the SSO. Their elder
son Xianlong, 19, is currently taking a break
from his violin studies at the Yong Siew Toh
Conservatory of Music to serve his national
service with the Singapore Armed Forces
Music and Drama Company; the younger
son Xianzhang, 11, is learning the piano and
violin. “Every child is different, with different
gifts,” noted Kong. “Both have been given
opportunities to develop their skills, so the
results remain to be seen.”
Cheryl Pek
Kong with his wife Shu Zhan and
their sons
