PATRON SPONSORS A STANDING OVATION TO OUR CORPORATE PARTNERS Partners GKG INVESTMENT HOLDINGS PTE LTD MASTERFUL Classic Remix & Morning Mix on Symphony 92.4FM (Sat & Sun, 8am to 12pm) MENDELSSOHN For a healthy mix of cross-over music, movie soundtracks and the great classics, join us for Classic Remix every Saturday and Sunday from 8am to 10am. From 10am to noon, get closure from Morning Mix. We play complete works by the great composers from different eras – from symphonies to concertos to chamber music. For more information, visit www.symphony.sg. Supported by various corporate sponsors and individual donors, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee and registered under the Charities Order. SINGAPORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA 11 Empress Place, Victoria Concert Hall, Ground Floor, Singapore 179558 Sat, 17 May 08 Company registration no.: 197801125M Esplanade Concert Hall Phone +65 6338 1230 (main) Fax +65 6336 6382 (main) E-mail [email protected] Website www.sso.org.sg PERFORMING HOME OF THE SSO All Rights Reserved, National Library Board, Singapore 17 May 08_A5 5/14/08 2:54 PM Page 1 Sat, 17 May 08 MASTERFUL 1 MENDELSSOHN Ari Rasilainen conductor Daniel Hope violin SERGEI PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 1 in D major, Op. 25 ‘Classical’ 15’00 FELIX MENDELSSOHN Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64 26’00 Intermission 20’00 Daniel Hope will autograph CDs at the stall foyer JEAN SIBELIUS 38’00 Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Op. 39 All timings indicated are approximate All Rights Reserved, National Library Board, Singapore 17 May 08_A5 5/14/08 2:54 PM Page 2 SINGAPORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA 2 A premier Asian orchestra gaining recognition around the world, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) aims to enrich the local cultural scene, serving as a bridge between the musical traditions of Asia and the West, and providing artistic inspiration, entertainment and education. A full-time professional orchestra with 96 members, the SSO now makes its performing home at the Esplanade Concert Hall, and also performs regularly at the Victoria Concert Hall and at other venues. Established in 1979, the SSO performs over 50 symphonic programmes a year. Its versatile repertoire spans the all-time favourites and orchestral masterpieces to exciting cutting-edge premieres, with Asian and Singaporean musicians and composers featuring prominently in the concert season. The SSO has toured America, China, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Italy, Japan, France, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom. All Rights Reserved, National Library Board, Singapore 17 May 08_A5 5/14/08 2:54 PM Page 3 Since Maestro Lan Shui assumed the position of Music Director in 1997, the SSO 3 has been distinguished by a high level of excellence and a rising international profile. Choo Hoey, who was Music Director from 1979 to 1996, is credited for developing the SSO with his diverse programming. Among the SSO’s recordings under BIS are a number of CDs which have earned international acclaim, including a Seascapes album and the first-ever symphony cycle of Tcherepnin. Since its release in May 2007, Seascapes, a compilation of sea-themed music by Debussy, Frank Bridge, Glazunov and Zhou Long, has garnered glowing reviews in various publications including BBC Music Magazine and American Record Guide. The SSO has also recorded the music of Chen Yi, Bright Sheng and Richard Yardumian, collaborating with such great artists as Gil Shaham, Evelyn Glennie, Cho-Liang Lin, Noriko Ogawa, Sharon Bezaly, Claude Delangle, Christian Lindberg and Martin Fröst. “Today it unquestionably ranks among the world’s best… A world-class orchestra that can switch between such radically divergent styles with virtuosic ease.” American Record Guide March/April 2007 All Rights Reserved, National Library Board, Singapore 17 May 08_A5 5/14/08 2:54 PM Page 4 Symphony 92.4FM Ad All Rights Reserved, National Library Board, Singapore 17 May 08_A5 5/14/08 2:54 PM Page 5 ARI RASILAINEN conductor Ari Rasilainen, born in 1959, is in the top category 5 of young successful Scandinavian conductors. He studied conducting at Jorma Panula’s conducting class at the Sibelius Academy and also under the late Arvid Jansons (conducting) and Aleksander Labko (violin) in Berlin. In 1989, Rasilainen won second prize in the International Nicolai Malko Conducting Competition in Copenhagen, and subsequently became a frequent guest conductor with the Danish orchestras. From 1985 to 1989, he was Chief Conductor of the Lappeenranta City Orchestra (Finland), and thereafter Principal Guest Conductor of the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1994, Rasilainen was appointed Chief Conductor of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Oslo. Rasilainen also performed in the United States and in various countries in Europe, more recently with the BRTN Philharmonic Orchestra, Prague Symphony Orchestra, Opera North (Leeds), the Frankfurt, Leipzig and Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestras and the Hanover Radio Philharmonic. In 1994 he conducted Lohengrin, in 1998 The Magic Flute and in 2001 Tosca at the Finnish National Opera in Helsinki. In May 2000, Rasilainen conducted the NDR-Radio-Philharmonic Hanover in the opening concert of the EXPO featuring José Carreras as soloist. In a live broadcast by ZDF (Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen) from the Schauspielhaus Berlin, he conducted the Berlin Radio Symphony in the annual concert of the ‘ECHO- KLASSIK’ award on 22 October 2000. Ari Rasilainen’s recordings with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra appear exclusively on the Finlandia Records label. Further contracts include the recording of the complete Symphonies by Kurt Atterberg for the CPO label. In mid 2002, he was appointed the new GMD of the Philharmonic Orchestra of the State of Rheinland- Pfalz (Germany). Starting on 1 January 2002, he took over the artistic directorship, and from the beginning of the 2002/2003 concert season, serves as the orchestra’s Principal Chief Conductor. From August 2002 to December 2005, Ari Rasilainen was Principal Guest Conductor of the Aalborg Symphony Orchestra in Denmark. All Rights Reserved, National Library Board, Singapore 17 May 08_A5 5/14/08 2:54 PM Page 6 DANIEL HOPE violin 6 Daniel Hope is renowned the world over for his musical vitality and creativity and has won important record prizes for classical music in the Western music scene. He has toured and performed in major music centres and festivals, appearing regularly with major orchestras and renowned conductors worldwide. Hope’s dedication to 20th century and contemporary music is highlighted through his close contacts with several eminent composers. Daniel Hope devotes a portion of his time to conceptual projects, such as his award-winning project East Meets West which features works for violin composed by Ravi Shankar. A close association with the actor Klaus Maria Brandauer has also led to a series of highly successful projects such as In Search For Freedom (War and Pieces) and Mozart Unplugged!. Other performances combining words and music created by Hope include An Audience With Beethoven with Mia Farrow, Forbidden Not Forgotten with chamber music and poetry from the Theresienstadt Ghetto, and Music To Die For!, a play written by Christopher Hope, featuring music performed by Hope and jazz pianist Uri Caine, directed by Jonathan Moore. In 2007 Daniel Hope signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon, with whom he records a variety of projects like the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and a Theresienstadt project with Anne Sofie von Otter and Christian Gerhaher. From 2004 to 2006 Hope made a total of eight award-winning recordings for Warner Classics: the Berg Violin Concerto and Britten Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Paul Watkins, John Fould’s Apotheosis – in memoriam Joseph Joachim with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Sakari Oramo, Mozart’s Sonata for Violin and Piano K.379 and Violin and Piano Concerto K.56 (315f) with Sebastian Knauer, Camerata Salzburg and Sir Roger Norrington, East Meets West with Gaurav Mazumdar and friends, Shostakovich’s Concertos No. 1 and 2 with BBC Symphony Orchestra and Maxim Shostakovich, and Bach’s Violin Concertos with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. All Rights Reserved, National Library Board, Singapore 17 May 08_A5 5/14/08 2:54 PM Page 7 Daniel Hope was a student of the Russian pedagogue, Zakhar Bron and graduated 7 from the Royal Academy of Music in London. At the age of ten he appeared on British television with double bass player Gary Karr. Yehudi Menuhin was one of his mentors with whom he performed over sixty concerts together, including Lord Menuhin’s final concert on 7 March 1999 in Düsseldorf, where Hope performed the Schnittke Violin Concerto. All Rights Reserved, National Library Board, Singapore 17 May 08_A5 5/14/08 2:54 PM Page 8 SINGAPORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA MUSIC DIRECTOR Lan Shui RESIDENT CONDUCTOR / MUSIC DIRECTOR of SINGAPORE SYMPHONY CHORUS Lim Yau 8 CONDUCTOR EMERITUS Choo Hoey PRINCIPAL GUEST CONDUCTOR Okko Kamu FIRST VIOLIN VIOLA FLUTE BASSOON TROMBONE LEADER PRINCIPAL PRINCIPAL PRINCIPAL PRINCIPAL Alexander Souptel Zhang Manchin Jin Ta Zhang Jin Min Allen Meek CO-LEADER ASSOCIATE ASSOCIATE ASSOCIATE ASSOCIATE Lynnette Seah PRINCIPAL PRINCIPAL PRINCIPAL PRINCIPAL Guan Qi Evgueni Brokmiller Liu Chang Fredi Sonderegger ASSISTANT LEADER FIXED CHAIR Roberto Alvarez Gao Quan* Benjamin Marks* Kong Zhao Hui† Luo Biao Lee Kee Hoi Zhao Ying Xue BASS TROMBONE FIXED CHAIR Chen Ge PICCOLO CONTRA ASSISTANT Chan Yoong Han