Bravissimo! - Singapore Symphony Orchestra

B
ravissimo !
april 2011 Vol. 12 No. 2
MICA (P) 013/05/2010
The Quarterly Newsletter of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra
In Paradisum
A star-studded 2011/12 season
Midori’s world
I wish I’d learnt skiing: Viviane Hagner
Lim Shue Churn leaves SSO after 31 years
www.sso.org.sg
Editorial
It’s that time of the year – as our Subscribers and Friends eagerly anticipate the
announcement of SSO’s new season line-up – and BraviSSimO! proudly brings you a
sneak preview of the star-studded roster which is to come, with top Russian-born soprano
Anna Netrebko giving the season a grand curtain raiser on June 29.
Then enter the worlds of famous Japanese violinist Midori, who turns 40 this year, and
German-Korean violinist Viviane Hagner, both due to appear with the SSO in April and
May respectively – as they wax lyrical on their favourite leisure pursuits. As we celebrate
our musical guests from overseas, we also salute our very own in an interview with violinist
Lim Shue Churn, who leaves SSO after a glorious 31-year career.
Happy reading!
The Editors
[email protected]
Contents
SSO News 03
Singapore Symphony 06
Children’s Choir
Conrad Celebrities: 08
Midori & Viviane Hagner
Anna Netrebko for 2011/12 season 03
Symphony Society 10
Backstage 13
Book Review
The Autograph Collector
15
Piano Festival
16
Midori’s world 08
On the cover: Maestro Lan Shui and
the SSO after a performance of
Faure’s Requiem at the Esplanade
Concert Hall
Photography by Collin Tan
Editorial Committee
Editors: Chang Tou Liang, Cindy Lim
A star-studded roster for 2011/12
Legendary conductors Neeme Järvi and Vladimir Ashkenazy will both
make their debut with the SSO. Ashkenazy will appear with the SSO
on November 4, with the newly minted winner of the 3rd Hong Kong
International Piano Competition which will be held in October.
Neeme Järvi will share the stage with fine Russian violinist Vadim
Repin on 18 January 2012, while Korean-American violinist Sarah
Chang conducts from the violin in Vivaldi’s immortal Four Seasons on
6 & 7 April 2012.
To mark the bicentenary of Franz Liszt in 2011, Stephen Hough will
perform both his two piano concertos on Nov 26. The SSO is also proud
to present the concert version of Beethoven’s Fidelio on 18 February
2012, as well as Orff’s Carmina Burana on 11 May 2012, joined by the
Singapore Symphony Chorus and a huge combined chorus.
Anna Netrebko
Details pertaining to priority sale and public sale dates will be available
on www.sso.org.sg in May. !
Neeme Jarvi
Sarah Chang
Vadim Repin
Neeme Järvi
sso news
The SSO has lined up an exciting roster of international guest artists
and performances in its new season. The opening act sees no less than
star soprano Anna Netrebko sharing the stage with her husband, bassbaritone Erwin Schrott, Maestro Lan Shui and the SSO in a one-night
only Gala concert on June 29.
Musical Chairs
Over two weeks late last year, the Singapore Symphony
Orchestra played host to Japanese violinist Keiko Ueda from the
Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. Ms Ueda, who was
here from November 29 to December 12 as part of a musician
exchange programme, not only played two concerts with the
SSO in the Esplanade Concert Hall but also found time to
explore Sentosa and other attractions, savour local food and
experience the Singapore way of life.
“It was such a great experience for me to play with musicians
from all over the world. I was very impressed that so many
different cultures exist together in one orchestra, and also in the
country,” says Ueda.
Farewell supper for Keiko (standing, fourth from left) with her Singapore
friends
Singaporean violist Marietta Ku, who represented SSO, was
overwhelmed by the warm hospitality extended by her Japanese
hosts from December 17 to 26.
TMSO was formed in 1965 as part of a cultural promotion
project of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to mark the
Tokyo Olympic Games. Since then, the orchestra has grown to
become one of Japan’s foremost professional orchestras. !
Welcome dinner for Marietta with the management, Ueda Keiko and
her desk partners
Keiko performing with the SSO in the Esplanade
Performing in Tokyo
Rehearsing with her SSO colleagues
Marietta with her desk partner
04
bravissimo!
SSO at Marina Bay
SSO’s outdoor concert at the Promontory at Marina Bay on March 19
attracted a 1000-strong crowd. Against the magnificent backdrop of the
Marina Bay skyline, the SSO under Darrell Ang won the audience over
with their lush performances of the Mephisto Waltz No. 1 by Liszt and
Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake Suite.
This performance was preceded by a SSO campus concert at AngloChinese School (Barker Road) on March 17, where over 400 students
and music lovers filled the Mrs Lee Choon Guan Concert Hall. !
Concert at the Promontory
Bravo, SSO!
An early start to the classics
SSO at ACS (Barker Road)
Shubhra and Soumya Ojha:
Singing from the heart
14-year-old twins Shubhra
and Soumya Ojha have been
singing with the Singapore
Symphony Children’s Choir
since 2008. Currently
enrolled at the Canadian
International School, the
highly versatile and multitalented girls are also wellversed in Indian carnatic
singing and classical dance,
and were invited to perform
at the 2010 Youth Olympic
Games held in Singapore.
The twins talk to BraviSSimO!
editor CINDY LIM about their
experiences singing with the
SSCC and their love for the
performing arts.
The twins performing at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games
What made you join the SSCC?
Shubhra: After participating in the musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with my sister at
the Esplanade, I discovered a newfound joy of singing in front of an audience.
I knew that I enjoyed singing ever since I was young and I realized I could
potentially sing in a professional choir. That is why we decided to audition
when my parents saw the SSCC advertisement in the newspaper.
Soumya: I really enjoy performing music on stage, and I thought that the SSCC was a
great platform to pursue that passion.
When did you start singing?
Shubhra: I do not remember the exact time when I started singing, but I know that I
have been singing ever since I was very young. I know I will, in the future,
continue to sing as well.
Soumya: I started taking Indian classical music lessons since I was four. So after
performing Indian music many times, I started performing western music.
And I only learned western music in training choir in SSCC.
How do you feel before a performance? What is it like on stage?
Shubhra: Before a performance, I feel a bit nervous and anxious. As we arrive on
stage, I quickly run through the song in fast forward, even though I know I
have memorized it well and been through vigorous rehearsals prior to the
performance. On stage, I feel confident when I sing. I make sure that I am
looking at the conductor, breathing properly, standing appropriately, thinking
of what comes next, and making use of many more useful tips given to me by
my teachers at SSO. When I look towards the audience, it is pitch black, so I
just focus on the conductor and what he or she wants me to do.
06
Soumya: I have been performing since a really early age for both dance and music, so
I have overcome the stage fright factor. But, before I go on stage, I get really
excited to showcase the hard work and practice that have gone into the
performance.
bravissimo!
What do you like most about performing?
Other than singing, what are your other interests?
Shubhra: When I am performing, I love to sing my heart out
and I love to hear the melodious sound our choir can
create, even though we are just children. I love to hear
the audience applauding at the end, because it makes
me feel proud that our choir has done a good job.
Shubhra: I do an Indian Classical Dance called Bharatanatyam
and I sing Indian Classical Music also known as
carnatic vocal music. In school, I love to play lots of
sports such as soccer and basketball. I am on my school
teams for both. I am learning to play the saxophone in
school, which is something I really enjoy. I love to go
to school and learn, and I am interested in most of the
things I learn at school.
Soumya: I feel that performing on stage is a platform of freedom
and self-expression. Although the audience might
judge you, you are an artist showing other people
what you are talented at. I find that really exciting and
I also enjoy performing because there is a chance to
communicate with the audience at a new and creative
level.
What has been your most memorable concert to date?
Soumya: Beethoven’s Ninth. It was a challenging piece and also
a popular symphony. It was really memorable because
we got to perform alongside the Singapore Symphony
Chorus.
What do you enjoy most about SSCC?
Shubhra: The thing I enjoy most about SSCC is that I get to
sing many songs with my friends. I love to learn new
ways to sing and proper ways to learn songs. I enjoy
performing, too. I love the whole process of learning
the melody, practicing and fine tuning, and finally
performing.
Soumya: I enjoy everything about being a part of the SSCC. We
learn classical songs as well as more modern pieces. I
like the variety and I also love getting to know people
from different schools. !
What has been your most challenging concert to date?
Shubhra: Sometimes I find the anniversary concerts a bit
more challenging than the others because we need
to prepare a whole variety of songs some of which
are in foreign languages. For example I found it a
bit challenging to memorize the music in last year’s
anniversary concert.
Soumya: I think all our concerts are challenging because the
music should be presented perfectly, and that takes a
lot of effort and skill. But, the most challenging would
have to be La Damnation de Faust because that was
my first concert as part of the SSCC and I wasn’t as
confident as some of the other members who had
been there longer. Even though it was a short part of
the song that the children had to sing, it was a big deal
because it was my first choral singing experience at
the Esplanade.
SINGAPORE SYMPHONY CHILDREN’S CHOIR
5TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT
Sun, 5 June 2011
5pm
Conservatory Concert Hall
In celebration of their 5th Anniversary, the Singapore
Symphony Children’s Chorus presents a selection of
choral delights from various periods – from Renaissance
to Classical to contemporary. Featuring Asian traditionals,
familiar hit songs from popular musicals, as well as
works by Eric Whitacre, Rheinberger and Poulenc.
Tickets available from SISTIC from April 15.
To find out more about the next round of SSCC auditions,
please contact [email protected], or call 6602 4215.
SINGAPORE SYMPHONY Children’s Choir
Shubhra: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. I thought it was very
exciting that our choir could sing such an amazing
symphony. Also, watching the orchestra below was
extremely amazing because they were playing as we
were singing and together we created something really
nice trying to get close to the beautiful symphony
created by the great Beethoven.
Soumya: I have been learning Bharatanatyam for 9 years now,
and that has also become my passion. I also love
higher-level maths and Aikido.
Midori’s world
CONRAD CELEBRITIES
She
made her concert debut in Osaka, Japan when she
was six and played at the Aspen Music Festival two years
later, where her performance of Bartók moved violin virtuoso
Pinchas Zukerman to tears. At 11 she performed at the New
York Philharmonic New Year’s Eve Concert under the legendary
maestro Zubin Mehta.
Despite her incredible rise to stardom at a young age, violinist
Midori, who turns 40 this year, tells you she is still learning
every single day: “To be an artist is to continue to learn for
life, and I always enjoy learning new music and forming new
collaborations. And I learn all the time about my inadequacies. I
seek to become as selfless as I can. I contemplate what it means
to be a good person, and strive to answer that question with how
I live my life.”
Nineteen years ago, the violinist made individual personal visits
to public schools in New York City, which has since grown into
a multi-tiered 26-week course for school children. To date,
Midori & Friends has reached out to some 180,000 children in
underserved public schools.
Born in Osaka, Midori began studying the violin with her
mother Setsu Goto at a very early age. She plays on the 1734
Guarnerius del Gesu “ex-Huberman”, which is on lifetime loan
to her from the Hayashibara Foundation. “When I first saw the
instrument, everything clicked, and I knew very quickly that this
was the one.” Now in her seventh year as Jascha Heifetz Chair at
the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music
and her fourth year as Chair of its strings department, she says
her students are never far from her mind.
“I love to read, from plays and children’s literature to non-fiction
subjects such as sociology, psychology and philosophy. Research
and writing fill a lot of my hours that aren’t spent playing the
violin or teaching. When I lived in New York, Broadway shows
and the theatre were frequent destinations for culture and
entertainment.”
“I don’t have a TV, but I can always try to lose myself in a good
novel or enjoy a dinner out with friends, but then, my thoughts
constantly wander away to my students. More recently, my
Midori will play Tchaikovsky’s Violin
Concerto in D major with the SSO at the
Esplanade Concert Hall on April 23.
Also featuring Rachmaninov’s Symphony
No. 3 in A minor. Lan Shui conducts.
studio (and its extension) and I go on outings or community
investigations together; these excursions never fail to be
interesting and enjoyable for me!”
What many people do not know is that the multi-faceted artist
also holds a degree in psychology and gender studies. “Going
to college was something I had always wanted to do. I did not
intend on studying psychology when I enrolled at the Gallatin
School at New York University.”
“I enrolled in an introductory psychology course to fulfil the
liberal arts core requirement, and then took more advanced
courses in the subject, which continued to interest me. In
retrospect, it makes perfect sense that I would have enjoyed
psychology, as I have always been intrigued by the way in which
other people’s minds work.” !
by Cindy Lim
VIVIANE HAGNER
From Bach to
Chaplin
Since making her international debut at the age of 12, Munich-born violinist
Viviane Hagner has earned praise for her moving musicality and artistry. Offstage she
nurses a keen passion for classic films.
“I adore Charlie Chaplin’s art,” she exclaims. “Limelight and The Great Dictator
are films I can watch many times and I discover new details every time. Ingmar
Bergman’s films are also my all-time favourites. Whenever there is a new film made
by the Coen Brothers, I can’t wait to watch it.”
Viviane Hagner will play
Berg’s Violin Concerto with the SSO
under Okko Kamu at the Esplanade
Concert Hall on May 6. Also
featuring Strauss’ tone poem Death
and Transfiguration and Brahms’
Symphony No. 1 in C minor.
Playing the violin from a young age meant that she was not allowed certain activities
such as skiing. “This is something I have been discouraged to do by my parents and
violin teachers. And to this day, I haven’t learnt how to ski,” she muses. “When I now
travel to beautiful snowy mountains, I sometimes wish I had learned it as a child.”
Born to a German father and Korean mother, the 34-year-old musician now makes
her base in Berlin where she is also teaching at the University of Arts. “It is close
to impossible to try to decide whether I feel more German or Korean. In a way I
would have to say that I feel more German, since I grew up in Germany, and I think
and dream in German most of the time. At the same time, I do know the Korean
language (although I am far from being fluent), I also feel relatively familiar with
Korean culture, and I do see my relatives.”
The Hyperion label released her recording of the Vieuxtemps Violin Concerti 4 &
5 in 2010 and Analekta has recently released her recording of Unsuk Chin’s Violin
Concerto with Kent Nagano and the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal. Her first
recital recording on the Altara label features solo works by Bartók, Hartmann and
Bach.
She plays the 1717 Sasserno Stradivarius. “When I played with the Berlin Philharmonic
Orchestra led by Claudio Abbado for the first time, I was playing on another borrowed
instrument which I was about to have to return. So he turned to the Nippon Music
Foundation and asked whether they would have an instrument for me to play on.”
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.
The avid reader is currently reading a selection of letters between Mozart and his
father, as well as a biography of French filmmaker Claude Lanzmann. Of the Berg
concerto she will play here on May 6, she says: “It is one of the most fascinating and
also touching concertos written in the 20th century. The complex 12-tone-technique
in which this concerto is composed never comes to the fore or distracts from the
melodies and tunes which are elegantly woven into the piece.” !
By Cindy Lim
bravissimo!
09
SSO 32nd Anniversary
Concert
The SSO marked its 32nd birthday with over 1500 supporters at the Esplanade on Jan 14 in a concert
symphony society
showcasing celebrated pianist Fou Ts’ong and Singaporean violinists Chan Yoong-Han and Foo Say
Ming. The orchestra rose to the occasion under the baton of Music Director Lan Shui, earning rapturous
applause from its audience. Guests and concertgoers were surprised to receive a specially-packaged
pound cake after the concert, courtesy of the Conrad Centennial Singapore. !
Mr Bobby Chin, Mrs Charlotte Goh, Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr George Yeo &
Mr Goh Yew Lin
A standing ovation for Fou Ts’ong
Mr Wong Nang Jang, Mr Bobby Chin, Mr & Mrs Chew Keng Juea
Violinists Chan Yoong-Han and Foo Say Ming team up for Martinů’s Concerto No. 2 for Two Violins
Ms Carolyn Seah & Mr Timothy Chia
Mr Heinrich Grafe, Ms Ingrid Hanson, Mrs Kwan Lui & Mr Leon Lui
Take a bow
Mr Eduardo Ramos-Gomez & Mr Michael Silverman
Mr Harold Foo, Mrs Theresa Foo & Mr Anthony Brice
bravissimo!
11
Mrs Celeste Basapa, Ms Ingrid Hanson & Mrs Heike Meyer
Mr & Mrs Serge Forti & Mr Pierre Emmanuel Jacob
Ms Fock Bee Lian & Ms Fock Siew Wah
Dr Geh Min, Mrs Jennifer Yeo, Mr Goh Yew Lin & Dr M C Tong
Prof & Mrs Bernard Tan
Mr E T Wong, Ms Song Li Wei & Lucia & Michael Cheok
12
bravissimo!
Lim Meng Keh:
Scandinavian dreams
Singaporean
percussionist Lim Meng Keh has
played many concerts in his 30 years with the SSO. But he will
always remember fondly the standing ovations SSO received on
its first major tour to the Scandinavian region in 1985.
“We flew to Copenhagen, before travelling by boat across to
Sweden. We then travelled by bus to cities in Sweden including
Stockholm, Göteborg, Karlstad, Jönköping, Malmö and we went
as far north to Asker, Oslo. It was snowing and very cold. All the
concerts were very well-received and it was my first time seeing
a standing ovation. It felt great!”
From playing the fife in his primary school band, Meng Keh
progressed to playing the percussion in secondary school. To
feed his love and passion for percussion he joined the Singapore
Polytechnic band as well as a community band.
While freelancing with the SSO in the early 1980s, he
successfully auditioned for a SSO-PSC (Public Service
Commission) scholarship to pursue his musical studies in
Melbourne’s Victorian College of Arts. “My family was not very
supportive as the music scene in Singapore was not as exciting
as it is now.”
Married with two teenage daughters, Meng Keh made his solo
debut with the SSO in 1984, playing Darius Milhaud’s Percussion
Concerto. “Concerts were mostly held in Victoria Concert Hall
and sometimes in the former World Trade Centre.”
Congratulations to
Orchestra Manager Adrian
Chiang and his wife Khai
Ling on the birth of their
daughter Arecia on January 2.
We share in the joy of
Assistant Development &
Sponsorship Manager Anthony
Chng and his wife Joan on the
birth of their daughter Rui Jie
on February 22.
When he is not rehearsing or performing, Meng Keh plays
computer games and listens to pop and jazz music to relax.
His favourite dishes include Teochew bak chor mee and Korean
bibimbap.
His daughters Jessica, 17, and Rebecca, 16 also share his love
of music. “Jessica plays the flute and Rebecca plays the clarinet.
Both are sporty and they have the same passion for softball.” !
by Cindy Lim
We also congratulate Jun Ikebe on the arrival
of his son on February 14.
Meng Keh’s daughters, Jessica and Rebecca
sso friends news
Meng Keh receives his 30-year long service award from SSO Chairman
Goh Yew Lin
Lim Shue Churn:
Veteran violinist leaves
SSO after 31 years
Shue Churn with her pet parrot
Charles Treger from the United States, she
also participated in many masterclasses
with various visiting SSO soloists.
A young Shue Churn gets Zubin Mehta’s autograph as Choo Hoey looks on
In October last year, violinist Lim Shue
backstage
Churn bid a fond farewell to the Singapore
Symphony Orchestra in Dresden – its
final stop on a sensational 6-city tour of
Germany and London. Music Director
Lan Shui paid a fitting tribute to the longserving SSO musician at the end of the
concert by walking to her seat in the first
violin section and surprising her with a
bouquet of flowers.
Just 13 when she joined the first batch
of SSO musicians as a trainee musician
in 1978, Shue Churn became a full-time
musician three years later. In 1980 she
travelled with the SSO to Malaysia for its
first concert tour. At the point of her last
concert, she had served some 31 years
SSO rehearsing in the early days
with the orchestra. Today she counts the
SSO’s 2005 New York debut in Lincoln
Center as the highlight of her threedecade career.
“Actually I did not feel that this was my
last tour and concert with SSO until Lan
presented the bouquet to me. That meant
a lot to me, more so than any award
or medal,” says the veteran musician.
“My friends in the orchestra are still my
friends, and Singapore remains my home.
That makes parting with the SSO much
easier.”
The long hours of practising came easily
to the young Shue Churn, who started
learning the violin with her father Lim
Tiap Guan at a very early age. A student of
Shue Churn with her dancer friends in Toronto
For the teenager, the biggest challenge
in the first few years was getting
accustomed to working with people from
different cultures and nationalities in
the orchestra. “SSO had musicians from
different countries, with their own habits,
personalities and idiosyncrasies. It was
not easy for me then.”
Of the years under Choo Hoey (19791996), she remembers performing
alongside mega star artists such as
Ruggiero Ricci (1980), Oscar Shumsky
(1986) and Salvatore Accardo (1986).
“Under the direction of Lan Shui,
the standard of the orchestra became
higher, we widened our repertoire, and
performed Mahler’s Symphony No. 8
in 2004. I wish I could perform this
particular work again!”
For now, there’s much to look forward
to, including more chamber music
performances and more time for
travelling, tennis, gym workouts and
playing with her parrot. “Life is not only
about music. I always wanted to do so
many things and did not want to wait till
I am 60. Now I am living my dream… so
many places to travel to and so much to
learn.” !
by Cindy Lim
the
Autograph
collector
This issue, BraviSSimO! takes a look at the autographs of concert
pianists. Piano concertos feature frequently on Singapore Symphony
Orchestra programmes, which means that many pianists get to come
to Singapore, including winners of prestigious piano competitions as
well as some legends of the piano.
FOU TS’ONG
In my humble opinion, the venerable Shanghai-born
pianist Fou Ts’ong, now 77 years of age, has the most
distinguished and beautiful autograph in all of classical
music. Drawn in a single seamless stroke, the poetic
interpretation of his name resembles a work of Chinese
calligraphy. He has performed in Singapore on many
occasions, and his autograph has always remained the
same – ornate yet magnanimous.
DANG THAI SON
The greatest pianist Vietnam has ever produced,
Dang was the first Asian winner of the Chopin
International Piano Competition in 1980. He
even has his own line of CDs, released in Ho Chi
Minh City and with notes in Vietnamese. Each
carries his autograph in print, but it is always
better to get him to sign it in person!
YEVGENY SUDBIN
The rising young Russian pianist, now
residing in UK, is getting used to signing
lots of autographs. His discography
grows by the month, every one wellreceived by the critics and listeners
alike. Like many other Russian artists, he
chooses to sign in Romanised lettering
rather than in Cyrillic. His is a simple
and understated one.
If you have interesting autographs to contribute, please send a high resolution scan and accompanying texts to: [email protected]
Happy autograph hunting for 2011!
Romantic Music’s
Most Versatile
Genius
By David Hurwitz
Published by Amadeus Press
$38.80 at Books Kinokuniya
The coverage is exhaustive without being belaboured with didactics and dry facts.
For a small volume (just 180 pages), practically all the works are mentioned within its
short chapters. Even the much-maligned Piano Concerto in G minor gets due credit,
which makes one want to hear it urgently. More importantly, Hurwitz’s style of writing
is unstuffy and always engaging.
Book Review
Veteran music reviewer David Hurwitz makes a very strong and persuasive case for
Antonín Dvorák (1841-1904), the Bohemia-born Czech nationalist composer, whom
he regards to be the equal of giants like Brahms and Wagner. Dvorák was, after all,
the most wide-ranging and prolific of the three; he wrote symphonies, operas, much
chamber, instrumental, choral and vocal music. Yet his legacy is misunderstood and
often underrated. For example, his first three symphonies are as obscure as his last
three symphonies are celebrated.
Two accompanying CDs of Dvorák excerpts from the Czech label Supraphon adds to
the value of this publication. This is possibly the best introduction to a great composer
who deserves to be more often performed and heard.
WIN A $30 KINOKUNIYA BOOK VOUCHER
by answering the following questions:
1.What was Dvorák’s father’s occupation?
A. Lawyer/Magistrate
B. Doctor/Surgeon
C. Composer/Kapellmeister D. Innkeeper/Butcher
E. Farmer/Landowner
2.Who is the only Bohemian in the Singapore
Symphony Orchestra?
(Clue: Violist)
Please send your answers and particulars to:
BraviSSimO! Kinokuniya Book Quiz
Kinokuniya Bookstores of Singapore
391B Orchard Road #13-06
Ngee Ann City Tower B, Singapore 238874
Or e-mail: [email protected]
Closing date: 31 May 2011
The first correct entry to be drawn will be
notified accordingly.
The correct answers to last issue’s quiz:
1. The President of the Singapore Mahler Society is Tan Chan Boon.
2. E. Sixth Symphony. It’s the symphony without a happy ending.
The winner was Lee Gek Ping.
Congratulations!
Transformation
18TH SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL PIANO FESTIVAL 2011
16-19 JUNE | 8PM, CONSERVATORY CONCERT HALL
Transformation demonstrates how life and art are intertwined, how life’s constant change finds musical and pianistic rationale in
the art of the theme and variations, transcriptions and making seemingly simple musical ideas metamorphose into large poetic
forms. This year’s Piano Festival showcases four pianists, each bringing his own life-changing experiences and personal virtuoso
style to his unique programme, to take you on a transcendental journey over four magical evenings.
Priority ticket sales for PianoFest subscribers and Friends of SSO from April 1. Public sales from April 12.
Tickets available from SISTIC.
www.pianofestival.com.sg
Janina
Fialkowska
Thu, 16 Jun 11
SCHUBERT
SZYMANOWSKI SZYMANOWSKI
CHOPIN
CHOPIN CHOPIN LISZT LISZT
CHOPIN/LISZT GOUNOD/LISZT Embraced by connoisseurs for decades for her tonal refinement and exquisite musical taste, the
Montreal-born Janina Fialkowska opens with Schubert’s Sonata in A, with its delightful, chimelike
melody, and also features Chopin’s B minor Scherzo. From the deeply meditative to the wildly
virtuosic, the works and transcriptions of Liszt, whose birth bicentenary the world celebrates this
year, round off this thrilling Festival curtain-raiser.
HANDEL
KNUSSEN BRAHMS
BEETHOVEN BEETHOVEN SHAI
WOSNER
Sonata in A major, Op. 120 D664
Etude, Op. 4 No. 3
L’Isle des Syrenes from the Suite “Metopes”
Waltz, Op. 34 No. 1
Nocturne in B major, Op. 62 No. 1
Scherzo No. 1 in B minor
Soirée de Vienne No. 6
Bénédiction de Dieu dans la Solitude
Three Polish Songs
Waltzes from the Opera ‘Faust’
Suite in B-flat HWV434
Variations, Op. 24
Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Handel, Op. 24
Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 34
Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, Op. 57 (“Appassionata”)
Israel-born Shai Wosner is a recipient of both an Avery Fisher Career Grant and a Borletti-Buitoni
Trust Award. Hailed by the New York Times as “a superb pianist”, he is known for his exceptional
artistry, musical integrity and creative insight. Brahms’ Handel Variations is one of the most popular
of all variation works for piano. Wosner will also perform a selection of great variation works by
Oliver Knussen and Beethoven, before ending with the mighty and dramatic Appassionata Sonata.
RAMEAU CLEMENTI SCHUMANN LISZT
RACHMANINOV
NAREH
ARGHAMANYAN
Gavotte et 6 doubles (variations)
Sonata in F-sharp minor, Op. 25 No. 5
Humoreske in B-flat major, Op. 20
Ballade No. 2 in B minor
Etudes Tableaux, Op. 33
22-year-old young Armenian virtuoso Nareh Arghamanyan is the winner of the 2008 Montreal
International Music Competition and has gained great acclaim from her latest album of piano
sonatas by Liszt and Rachmaninov. In this concert, she will play Liszt’s militaristic and brilliant
Ballade No. 2 in B minor and Rachmaninov’s Etudes Tableaux, a work originally written to comprise
nine etudes.
Sat, 18 Jun 11
ARNALDO
COHEN
Sun, 19 Jun 11
BACH-BUSONI
NEPOMUCENO
GNATTALI LEVY
BRAGA
NAZARETH NAZARETH CHOPIN Chaconne in D minor (from Partita No. 2, BWV 1004)
Air (from Suite Antiga, Op. 11)
Valsa No. 7
Valsa Lenta No. 4
Corrupio (Valse Capriccio)
Odeon
Apanhei-te, Cavaquinho
The Four Scherzi
Arnaldo Cohen opens the concert with Ferruccio Busoni’s 1893 transcription of Bach’s Chaconne in
D minor from the Partita No. 2 and will also perform Chopin’s Four Scherzi – with dazzling textures
and deeply moving melodies. He contrasts these familiar favourites with a rare and dazzling array
of pieces from his native Brazil, works which reflect a rich and exotic cultural diversity and a Latino
warmth and generosity, promising gems and surprises in abundance.
Published by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. Printed by First Printers.
Fri, 17 Jun 11