Yang Tianwa: The accidental violinistAlexei Volodin: Staying on a high noteCatching up with young pianist Li Churen

www.sso.org.sg

The Quarterly Newsletter of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra

Bravissimo!OctOber 2015 Vol. 16 No. 4 MCI (P) 195/07/2015

1845: the Straits times 170th Anniversary concert

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: 08Alexei Volodin & Yang Tianwa

SSO News 10

Focus on Masterpieces 12

The Autograph Collector 13

Symphony Society 14

On My Playlist 15

Backstage with Kartik Alan Jairamin 16

On the cover: Associate Conductor Joshua Tan and the SSO performing at the Singapore Botanic Gardens

editors: cindy Lim chang tou Liang

Writers: Melissa tan cheryl Pek

editorialThere were many reasons to celebrate at the Singapore Symphony Orchestra’s free concert at the Botanic Gardens in July: it was the 170th anniversary of The Straits Times, Singapore’s 50th birthday was round the corner in August, and the gardens had been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site just a week earlier! It was not surprising that as many as 10,000 – the largest number ever seen at an outdoor SSO event – turned up to partake of the festivities and soak in the joyous atmosphere.

This success was repeated at the Pops Concert: The Best of Joe Hisaishi on August 6, and again at the opening concert of the Beethoven Piano Concertos series with Stephen Hough on September 2, where both performances at the Esplanade attracted full-capacity audiences. In this issue we also bring you conversations with two young musical stars who will sharing the stage with the SSO in the weeks ahead: violinist Yang Tianwa and pianist Alexei Volodin.

CINDY LIMEditorcindy@sso.org.sg

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Conrad Celebrities: Yang Tianwa 09

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Joe Hisaishi music draws 1,800Associate Conductor Joshua Tan led the SSO in yet another sold-out pops concert featuring music by Joe Hisaishi in the Esplanade Concert Hall on August 6. The 1,800-strong audience enjoyed a selection of popular melodies from Studio Ghibli animation films including My Neighbor TOTORO, Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle. The soloists for the evening – pianist Shane Thio, cellist Ng Pei-Sian and soprano Jeong Ae-Ree – tugged at the heartstrings of the audience with their stirring performances. The concert concluded with a moving encore of Home, setting the mood for the Singapore’s Golden Jubilee weekend. !

Piano soloist Shane Thio

Soprano Jeong Ae-Ree gives an inspiring rendition ofStand Alone from Saka No Ue No Kumo

Ng Pei-Sian performing the cello solo from Departures

Playing in the Botanic Gardens

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SPH Gift of Music concertsIn celebration of The Straits Times’ 170th Anniversary, the SSO performed at the Singapore Botanic Gardens on July 11 under Associate Conductor Joshua Tan, the first concert held in the gardens since it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site a week earlier. Playing to an audience of 10,000, the programme showcased popular favourites including Brahms’ Academic Festival Overture, Portrait of The Beatles and music from Ben Hur, before surprising the crowd with an encore Stand Up for Singapore, in a nod to Singapore’s upcoming birthday in August.

As part of the SPH Gift of Music 10th Anniversary celebration, the SSO gave a free lunchtime concert in the Esplanade Concert Hall on July 30, playing to a 1,200-strong audience. Under its Music Director Lan Shui, the SSO – joined by violinist Ning Feng – performed the first movement from the Sibelius Violin Concerto in D minor, which was followed by an encore of Bach’s Sarabande from Partita in D minor. The orchestra also performed Sibelius’ Finlandia and the final movement from Nielsen’s Sinfonia Espansiva. !

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SSO bassoonist Christoph Wichert

Violinist Ning Feng joined Lan Shui and the SSO for Sibelius' Violin Concerto on July 30

SSO Concertmaster Igor Yuzefovich tuning the orchestra

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the beethoven piano concertosBritish pianist Stephen Hough joined the SSO for the complete cycle of Beethoven’s beloved piano concertos over three concerts on September 2, 5 and 10. Playing in the Esplanade Concert Hall, the series opened with Hough’s composition The Loneliest Wilderness featuring SSO Principal Cellist Ng Pei-Sian.

Farewell to a friend After 34 years with the SSO, Principal Second Violin Zhang Zhen Shan played his final concert with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra on September 2. At the concert, SSCL Chairman Goh Yew Lin thanked Zhang for his long and dedicated service and presented him with a token of appreciation. The veteran 69-year-old musician will be taking on the role of Resident Conductor at the Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra in China.

Stephen Hough acknowledging the applause

SSCL Chairman Goh Yew Lin (left) paying tribute to Zhang Zhen Shan at the start of the concert

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A 60-foot beanstalk rises from the stage to the ceiling

Jack and the beanstalk The SSO’s Concerts for Children: Jack and the Beanstalk featuring Dandi Productions played to sold-out houses at the Victoria Concert Hall on September 12 and 13. Associate Conductor Joshua Tan directed the orchestra in the fascinating performance inspired by Roald Dahl’s version of the story. A group of 80 from the Salvation Army Homes, foster families under MSF and Project Nurture for Low Income Families in Tanjong Pagar attended the performance on Sep 12, as part of the Lim and Tan Securities – A Musical Discovery scheme.

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choo Hoey returnsThe 81-year-old Choo Hoey, who is the founding Music Director of the SSO, returned to conduct the orchestra on August 14 in a programme of music by Milhaud, Bruch and Beethoven. 21-year-old violinist Tseng Yu-Chien, the top prize (Silver Medal) winner at the recent Tchaikovsky International Competition in Russia, took on the heartfelt solo part in Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy.

Choo Hoey returned to conduct music by Milhaud, Bruch and Beethoven

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Sea Festival, Konzerthaus Dortmund and Konzerthaus Vienna, as well as Münchner Philharmoniker and London Symphony Orchestra.

In December, he will share the stage with the star Russian conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy for the first time, playing Rachmaninov’s ever-popular Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor: “I am very, very excited and happy about it.”

Cindy Lim

One of the most outstanding Russian pianists today, Alexei Volodin first gained international recognition following his win at the 2003 International Géza Anda Competition in Zurich and has not looked back since.

The Leningrad-born Volodin studied at Moscow’s Gnessin Academy and the Moscow Conservatoire, before continuing his studies at the International Piano Academy Lake Como in Italy. “It was fantastic to be surrounded by great musicians, incredible nature and wonderful instruments to work on. What could be better?” recounts the 38-year-old pianist.

“We never had any musicians in the family – I am the first one. However I have always been surrounded by music, and was very sensitive to it. And at one point I realized I wanted to make music myself,” he says. “Great musicians are everywhere. You just have to see them, hear them and learn from them.”

Volodin’s most recent album of solo Rachmaninov works was released under Challenge Classics in 2013. His previous release, a disc of music by Chopin won a Choc de Classica and was awarded five stars by Diapason.

As Artist-in-Residence at the Mariinsky Theatre for 2014/15, Volodin appeared regularly with Valery Gergiev and in concerts with the Mariinsky Orchestra at Stockholm’s Baltic

ALexei VOLOdin

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Alexei Volodin performs with the SSO and Vladimir Ashkenazy at the Esplanade Concert Hall on December 3.

Friends of the SSO may register for a Post-Concert Meet and Greet with Ashkenazy and Volodin on December 3. Please visit www.sso.org.sg/friends for details.

Conrad Centennial Singapore offers a choice of exciting 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.

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28-year-old Yang Tianwa may be a rising star in the classical music scene today, but her foray into the world of violin playing was purely accidental. Growing up in the Chinese capital of Beijing, there were no musicians in her family. Then the kindergarten chosen for the four-year-old Yang – favoured for its proximity to where her father worked – turned out to be the only music kindergarten in Beijing at the time.

“I started playing on an electronic keyboard, sang and danced in a group. After two months, the teachers discovered I had perfect pitch, were surprised about my progress on the keyboard and thought I might have some musical talent. So they advised my parents to buy me a piano and get some private lessons. But we couldn’t afford a piano at that time so a violin was put in my hands, as it was cheap and sweet for a little girl,” Yang recalls.

The young prodigy went on to study with Lin Yaoji in Beijing’s Central Conservatory of Music, before accepting a scholarship to study chamber music in Germany at the age of 16, marking the beginning of her European career. Her years in Europe, she says, opened up her eyes and ears, and helped her find her own path in music. “One has so many opportunities to meet with and learn from great artists from all of the world here in Europe.”

“In my childhood I was hooked on recordings,” Yang shares. “The great violinists of the so-called “golden age” had a huge influence on me, especially Adolf Busch and his quartet,

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The accidental violinist

Yang Tianwa performs Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor with the SSO and Music Director Lan Shui in the Esplanade Concert Hall on January 9. Tickets available from SISTIC.

Joseph Szigeti and Michael Rabin. My mentor Lin Yaoji was also someone I’ve always looked up to: his passion for music, generosity for his students and thirst for learning new things made him a great personality.”

“When I was bored from practising and travelling in my teens, I sometime daydreamed of becoming a lawyer or psychologist,” the young violinist says with a laugh, before adding: “I’ve always felt that music is the main part of my life; a life without it is simply not imaginable for me.”

Cindy Lim

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Free concerts in VcH & Victoria JcAssociate Conductor Joshua Tan and the SSO returned to Victoria Junior College on July 10 with yet another exciting campus concert featuring music by Mozart, Brahms, Tchaikovsky and Rózsa. The same programme was performed at the SSO’s Lunchtime Concert in the Victoria Concert Hall on July 9.!

Lunchtime Concert in the Victoria Concert Hall

Conductor Joshua Tan poses for a picture with his fans

Happy faces outside the VJC performance theatre

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catching up with young pianist Li churenSince her appearance in the SSO’s President’s Young Performers Concert in 2013, 20-year-old Li Churen has gone on to graduate from the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music (YSTCM) in May this year and is currently studying in Yale University where she is pursuing her Master’s Degree under the guidance of Peter Frankl.

“The SSO concert was really the start of everything for me,” says Li. “I left for the Aspen Music Festival and School the day after my performance, where I studied with Yoheved Kaplinsky, the Head of Piano at Juilliard. She really helped me achieve physical freedom at the keyboard which opened up my playing. When I returned to Aspen in 2014 I had the opportunity to play in some high-profile chamber music concerts, and it was wonderful being coached by the best quartets in America.”

She added: “I met Mr Frankl a couple of years ago at a piano competition. I have always admired his humility and wisdom which is also reflected in his music. He is also a fabulous chamber musician. He plays a lot of composers from the classical and early romantic era, which happens to be the music that I have an affinity for.”

Apart from Aspen, Li also attended other music festivals in Europe and America in 2014, and performed recitals in Italy. She also won the first prize in four international competitions.

Recently Li joined Jason Lai and the YST Conservatory Orchestra for two performances of Beethoven’s Second Piano Concerto in Hong Kong and Macau on September 29 and 30. A preview concert was held at the YSTCM on September 25. The concerts were organised by the Singapore Consulate General in Hong Kong in celebration of Singapore’s golden jubilee. Li’s concert gowns were sponsored by Raoul.

Li Churen is currently studying in Yale University

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HAYDN Die Schöpfung (The Creation) 23 & 24 October 2015, Victoria Concert Hall,conducted by Lim Yau

WHOJoseph Haydn (1732-1809) was one of music’s most original minds. Sequestered for much of his career in the court of Esterhazy as an employed servant-musician, he was “forced to be original”, according to Haydn’s own words. He has been credited as the “Father” of the string quartet, piano trio and symphony genres. He wrote more of these forms than any other composer, and popularised them in concerts. It would not be amiss to declare that the legacies of Mozart and Beethoven as we know it would not have existed if not for Haydn’s genius.

WHATAlthough the oratorio (a choral work based on a biblical subject) was highly popular in London, with much credit to Handel, it had not yet caught on in Vienna. That was to change with Haydn’s Die Schöpfung (The Creation), based on the events in the First

Chapter of Genesis, which was premiered in 1798. It is one of very few works that is equally popular in both its German and English versions, the London premiere taking place in 1800. This pair of performances will be sung in German.

LISTEN FOR...The orchestral prelude, Vorstellung des Chaos (Representation of Chaos), is astonishingly modern for its time. The uncertain tonality was Haydn’s idea of cosmic imbalance, which eventually rights itself with the choral proclamation of Und es ward Licht (And there was light), solidly grounded in C major! Although there are five solo parts (usually sung by three soloists), the choruses steal the show with favourites like Die Himmel erzählen (The Heavens are Telling), Vollendet is das grosse Werk (The Great Work is completed) and Singt dem Herren (Sing unto the Lord).

Focus on masterpiecesHere Are SOMe cOncertS FeAturinG GreAt MASterPieceS YOu MiGHt Like tO Attend.

MAHLER Symphony No. 316 January 2016, Esplanade Concert Hall,conducted by Lan Shui

WHODuring his lifetime, Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) was better known as a great conductor who happened to also compose rather long symphonies. He did this during his spare time, and then conducted the symphonies in his own concerts. Not all the symphonies were well received, and he was often accused of self-indulgence and megalomania. The Eighth Symphony, better known as the “Symphony of a Thousand”, was the last one he conducted. He did not survive to hear his Ninth or Tenth Symphonies performed, but boldly and prophetically proclaimed, “My time will come...”

WHATMahler’s Third Symphony (1895-96) was also his longest, cast in six movements, and playing for no less than 90 minutes. It originally had a programme beginning with the “March of Summer” (the massive 1st movement), followed by five shorter movements on the messages of nature (“What flowers tell me, what animals tell me, what night tells me, what morning bells tell me”, and finally “What love tells me”). These descriptions were

dropped, but one can easily discern their inspirations by just listening. The alto aria (4th movement) is taken from Nietzsche's Also Sprach Zarathustra while the short chorus (5th movement) from Des Knaben Wunderhorn, a collection of German folk poetry.

LISTEN FOR...The theme of the opening march has been likened to the finale of Brahms’ First Symphony. Is this just a mere coincidence? The alto sings in just two movements, while the children's and women’s choir sing in just the brief 5th movement Es sungen drei Engel (Three Angels Sang). The “bimm bamm” of the children's voices simulates the sound of morning bells, and the music from this movement is heard again in the 4th movement of the Fourth Symphony. It is little wonder that both symphonies have been referred to as Mahler’s “Wunderhorn” symphonies. The final movement Langsam sets the tone for Mahler's future slow movements, which are impassioned messages of love.

Chang Tou Liang

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

MASAAki SuZukiThe founder of the world renowned Bach Collegium Japan has a most wonderful autograph, inscribed in glorious Kanji script. A devout Christian by faith, he also has great pride in his Japanese heritage. Can we even hope that he someday brings his BCJ to perform in Singapore?

LeOnidAS kAVAkOSThe famous Greek violinist who recently performed Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with the SSO turned conductor in a riveting reading of Dvorak’s Seventh Symphony. One guesses he always gets asked for autographs, which is why he has a most economical signature that is accomplished in a single vertiginous stroke.

tHOMAS dAuSGAArdThe Danish conductor who led the Singapore premiere of the Deryck Cooke performing edition of Mahler’s Tenth Symphony has an equally economical autograph which consists a little more than his initials T.D. His inscription belies his extravagant and ballet-like movements on the podium.

This issue, we feature the autographs of conductors who have recently conducted the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. Conductors usually do not hold autograph sessions, which is a pity because many are just as celebrated as soloists themselves.

bLASt FrOM tHe PASt:PierO GAMbA (1981)Collectors of Decca recordings will remember the child prodigy conductor Pierino Gamba who made several highly acclaimed LPs with the British label. Piero Gamba is the same conductor

himself, except full grown-up! He explained that Pierino merely means “Little Peter”. His very elaborate autograph was gratefully received by a teenager after a concert of Rossini, Mozart and Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony at Victoria Concert Hall on 3 July 1981.

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President’s Young Performers concert

14-year-old violinist Kimberly Lo and 24-year-old pianist Clarence Lee took centrestage at this year’s President’s Young Performers Concert at the Victoria Concert Hall on July 2 and 3. Lo was the soloist in the Suite in A minor by Christian Sinding, while Lee played the solo part in Liszt’s First Piano Concerto. The SSO was led by Associate Conductor Joshua Tan, who is also an alumni of this prestigious series sponsored by the Singapore Institute of Management.!

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Mr Goh Yew Lin, Kimberly Lo, Clarence Lee & Mr Tan Soo Jin

Prof Cham Tao Soon, Ms Chew Gek Khim & Dr Richard Yen

Kimberly Lo

On My PlaylistWHAt SSO MuSiciAnS Are LiSteninG tO

dAMiAn PAtti SSO ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL TROMBONE

A regular album within my playlist is trombonist Urbie Green and his works from The Complete Persuasive Trombone. Known as the “trombonist’s trombonist”, he is one of the great jazz musicians among the elite of the world’s trombone players. The Persuasive Trombone of Urbie Green is a collection of his big band recordings between 1960-62.

What makes this particular album special is the hip swinging arrangements, the band's knot-tight attack and Green's rich swinging horn. Throughout his career, Green's appeal rested with his ability to sing beautifully through his trombone. He employed a velvety tone and a breathing technique that erased any evidence of taking a breath. Notes seemed to pour from his bell, and Green somehow managed to move effortlessly up and down along the surface of melodies.

This four-disc DVD box set titled Sir Georg Solti – The Maestro recorded by Decca contains some remarkable treasures. The highlight is the performance of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7 by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Recorded in the Royal Albert Hall during a Proms concert in 1978, the Chicago Symphony has never sounded more resplendent then it does here. Not to be ignored and with equal importance are the magnificent Strauss works, Death and Transfiguration and

a sublime Four Last Songs with Lucia Popp. Also featured in this set is some of the finest and most revealing footage of Solti rehearsing with the Vienna Philharmonic in 1995, two years before his death. Solti turns out to be an engaging and delightfully funny raconteur.

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The most intriguing thing about Kartik Alan Jairamin, the SSO’s latest addition in the horn section, is perhaps that he did not come into contact with music at an early age, unlike many other professional musicians.

“Music was not really a part of my life until I joined the military band in my secondary school,” says the 30-year-old Singaporean musician. “In fact I hadn’t even considered making a career out of it until much later on in life! However when I joined the Singapore Youth Orchestra (SYO), it was the turning point of my life. I had to audition four times before I was promoted to the main orchestra. I was surrounded by musicians my own age and there my interest in music really took root. As for making music my profession, I have to attribute it to Han Chang Chou – Principal Horn of the SSO and my first teacher in the SYO – and my military band coach Sia Swee Suan.”

His passion for music and experience with the SYO propelled him to pursue his formal musical education at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), completing both his Diploma and Bachelor studies there. He recently returned to the sunny island after graduating from the Royal College of Music, London, with a Masters of Music in Performance.

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better late than never

Having spent a total of 12 years with the SYO, he strongly feels that it had given him a headstart and the golden opportunity to learn a wide repertoire of music and perform regularly. “That was also when I was first bitten by the travel bug, having travelled to Vienna, Aberdeen and Berlin with the SYO,” he laughed.

On working alongside his teachers Han Chang Chou and Gao Jian (SSO’s Associate Principal Horn), Kartik says: “It is such a great honour to play alongside these amazing musicians. They taught me everything I knew about music, and watched me progress over the years. I remembered how nervous and timid I was the first few times I freelanced with the SSO. I am more comfortable now, and am excited to continue learning from them.”

Kartik says he might have pursued his other dream of becoming an architect if he did not become a musician. “It must be all the Lego I received for every birthday and Christmas,” he says. “When I travel these days, most of the itinerary is dedicated to visiting and admiring the local buildings, both old and new. I have always been fascinated with how those drawings on paper are turned into these wonderful feats of engineering and architecture.”

Cheryl Pek

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Kartik says he would have become an architect if he hadn't pursued music