SSO Chief Conductor Hans Graf in First Live Concert this January
Maestro Hans Graf will make his first appearance in front of a live audience in his role as SSO Chief Conductor this January.
On 6 January, Chief Conductor Hans Graf joins the orchestra to conduct Mozart’s Symphony No. 36 (“Linz”) alongside the composer’s Piano Concerto No. 23, with soloist Albert Tiu. This concert, at Esplanade Concert Hall, will be Hans Graf’s first in front of a live audience in Singapore since he took up the role of Chief Conductor at the beginning of the 2020/21 Season.
Hans Graf was named Chief Conductor in July 2019 and he was scheduled to make his debut with the orchestra in July 2020. However, as a result of COVID-19, the upcoming concert on 6 January 2021 will be the first time that audiences in Singapore will be able to see him conduct the orchestra live since his appointment. Over the past few months, while concert halls have been closed, Hans Graf has conducted the SSO in several online concerts as part of SSOPlayOn!, the orchestra’s programme of digital events.
The orchestra also announces two further live concerts at Esplanade Concert Hall, the first on 16 January, by the Woodwind and Brass Ensemble of SSO, is a programme of works by Mozart, Bruckner, Gabrieli and Hindemith. This is followed, on 4 February, by A Gift to the Universe: Celebrating Bach III, the next instalment in the orchestra’s series of concerts exploring the music of the Baroque master, J. S. Bach.
In addition, there will be a chamber music concert taking place at Victoria Concert Hall on 3 January. VCHpresents Organ: A Ceremony of Carols will see performances of works by Britten, Bach and more, by organist Loraine Muthiah, soprano Raeanne Wong and harpist Charity Kiew. Tickets are $5 and go on sale at 10am on 16 December.
A number of safe management measures will be in place for all concerts, including temperature screening, enhanced cleaning, separate entrances for audience members seated in different areas of the venue, the use of the TraceTogether app or token, and safe distancing between audience members. There will be no mandatory pre-event testing for these live concerts.
Tickets for both January Esplanade concerts start at $28 and will go on sale at 10am on 16 December. Tickets will go on sale for A Gift to the Universe: Celebrating Bach III on 7 January.
A Ceremony of Carols
Loraine Muthiah, organ / Charity Kiew, harp / Raeanne Wong, soprano
Sun / 03 Jan 21 / 4.00pm
Sun / 03 Jan 21 / 7.30pm
Victoria Concert Hall
The beautiful combination of scintillating harp and sonorous organ is joined by voice in excerpts from Britten’s heavenly Ceremony of Carols. Harpist Charity Kiew, soprano Raeanne Wong and organist Loraine Muthiah take turns to brighten the yuletide season, finishing with the familiar tune of “Carol of the Bells”.
Click here to find out more about Victoria Concert Hall’s Klais Organ.
FeaturingLoraine Muthiah, organ / Charity Kiew, harp / Raeanne Wong, soprano
Programme| Johann Sebastian Bach (J.S. Bach) | In dulci jubilo, BWV 729 |
|---|---|
| Daquin | Noël Suisse |
| Balbastre | Quand Jesus naquit à Noël |
| Hasselmans | Chanson de Mai, Op. 40 |
| Grandjany | Aria in Classic Style |
| Benjamin Britten (Britten) | Selections from A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28 |
| Gerald Near (Near) | Carillon on a Ukrainian Bell Carol |
To Vienna and Linz with Mozart
Singapore Symphony Orchestra / Hans Graf, Chief Conductor / Albert Tiu, piano
Wed / 06 Jan 21 / 7.30pm
Esplanade Concert Hall
Lyrical peace and spirited confidence – words to describe Mozart’s finest music. Take a trip to Vienna and Linz with our Austrian maestro and Chief Conductor Hans Graf this January. Embolden your footsteps as we explore the resplendent vigour of Mozart’s Linz Symphony, and join Singapore-based pianist Albert Tiu in the sparkling serenity of the 23rd Piano Concerto. Come discover the multi-faceted appeal of Mozart’s genius!
FORMAT: This will be a live concert held at the Esplanade Concert Hall.
FeaturingSingapore Symphony Orchestra / Hans Graf, Chief Conductor / Albert Tiu, piano
Programme| Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Mozart) | Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K.488 |
|---|---|
| Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Mozart) | Symphony No. 36 in C major, K.425 “Linz” |
As The Winds Blow
Woodwind & Brass Ensemble of the SSO
Sat / 16 Jan 21 / 7.30pm
Esplanade Concert Hall
Live at the Esplanade Concert Hall: an all-wind programme with the Woodwind and Brass Ensemble of the SSO! Our intrepid band of musicians will present music from across the ages. Witty Hindemith, magical Mozart, seafaring shanties with Arnold, all-trombone Brucknerian solemnity and the brass sextet by underrated German trumpeter-composer Oskar Böhme will fill the hall together with the Renaissance splendour of Gabrieli and Byrd.
FORMAT: This will be a live concert held at the Esplanade Concert Hall.
FeaturingWoodwind & Brass Ensemble of the SSO
Programme| Paul Hindemith | Kleine Kammermusik for Five Winds, Op. 24 No. 2 |
|---|---|
| Malcolm Arnold (Arnold) | Three Shanties for Wind Quintet, Op. 4 |
| Anton Bruckner (Bruckner) | Christus Factus Est (arr. Malmstrom) |
| Oskar Böhme | Sextet |
| Giovanni Gabrieli (Gabrieli) | Canzona per sonare No. 2 |
| Giovanni Gabrieli (Gabrieli) | Canzona per sonare No. 4 |
| Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Mozart) | The Magic Flute Overture |
| William Byrd | The Earle of Oxford’s March (arr. Howarth) |
A Gift to the Universe - Celebrating Bach III
Singapore Symphony Orchestra / Darrell Ang, conductor / Chloe Chua, violin / Ye Lin, violin
Thu / 04 Feb 21 / 7.30pm
Esplanade Concert Hall
Some 22 billion kilometres away in space, Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 lies among other earthly sounds and music on the Golden Record, carried by the Voyager space probes since they left Earth in 1977. Bach’s legacy is humanity’s future. Likewise, Singapore’s young shining star of the violin, Chloe Chua. See her live on stage with SSO violinist Ye Lin in the universally loved Double Violin Concerto. A present from a small, distant world, a token of our music, thoughts and feelings – a gift of music to the universe.
This concert is dedicated to the late Dr. Goh Keng Swee, founding patron of the SSO.
FORMAT: This will be a live concert held at the Esplanade Concert Hall.
FeaturingSingapore Symphony Orchestra / Darrell Ang, conductor / Chloe Chua, violin / Ye Lin, violin
Programme| Johann Sebastian Bach (J.S. Bach) | Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F major, BWV 1047 |
|---|---|
| Johann Sebastian Bach (J.S. Bach) | Concerto in D minor for Two Violins and Orchestra, BWV 1043* |
| Johann Sebastian Bach (J.S. Bach) | Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G major, BWV 1049 |
For press enquiries, please contact:
Elizabeth Davis
T +65 6602 4239
elizabeth.davis@sso.org.sg