Music Is: Start 2022 on a high note with SSO

Setting the stage for another year of enthralling performances, Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) maintains its musical momentum by delivering its characteristic zest of music with outstanding programmes. Chief Conductor Hans Graf will take the helm to orchestrate the Singapore debut of Romanian-born German pianist Herbert Schuch as well as the concert that sees the return of highly accomplished young Chinese violinist He Ziyu. During January and February, the SSO will also premiere online concerts that are exclusively available on SSOLOUNGE, the orchestra’s steaming platform.

On 6 January, the musicians of the SSO come together for VCHpresents Chamber: The Elegiac Russian, where they will play three beautiful yet poignant chamber pieces from Russian composing greats comprising Tchaikovsky, Khachaturian and Rachmaninoff.

A week after on 14 & 15 January, Romanian-born German pianist Herbert Schuch makes his highly-anticipated Singapore debut in Schumann Piano Concerto and Mozart’s Jupiter. Audiences can expect to revel in a delicate symphony of sounds as SSO Chief Conductor Hans Graf directs Mozart’s 33rd Symphony, followed by Schuch’s performance of the rhapsodic masterpiece — Schumann’s Piano Concerto. The evening will culminate in the orchestra’s exhilarating performance of Mozart’s last symphony, the grandiose Jupiter Symphony.

After his Singapore debut with SSO in 2019, Chinese violin prodigy and 1st prize winner in the Senior Division of the 2016 Menuhin Competition He Ziyu returns on 21 & 22 January for Beethoven, 1806. Conducted by Chief Conductor Hans Graf, He, known for his distinctive confident and sprightly performance, will be delivering his rendition of Beethoven’s one and only Violin Concerto. The concert will also see the orchestra performing Beethoven’s dynamic Symphony No. 4.

Beyond January’s exciting live concerts, the SSO experience can also be enjoyed  with the digital release of A Triptych of Ravel, Respighi and Copland on the SSOLOUNGE. Available free from 20 January, audience can bask in the picturesque soundscape of Respighi’s celebrated Three Botticelli Pictures, Ravel’s fairytale Ma mère l’Oye, and Copland’s vibrant Clarinet Concerto featuring SSO’s Principal Clarinetist Ma Yue.

The riveting concert lineup continues into February at Victoria Concert Hall. The month’s programme is off to a majestic start with VCHpresents Organ: Daniel Moult – The English Connection on 12 February. Marking the return of the first international organist to perform with SSO since 2020, Daniel Moult, director of the highly acclaimed organ arm of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, will be performing an eclectic concert spotlighting works from English composers and arrangers including Mendelssohn, Purcell, and Handel.

In a two-day concert special for SSO’s Baroque Festival, Andrew Arthur, Associate Director and harpsichordist of the UK’s renowned period ensemble, The Hanover Band, will be conducting the orchestra for VCHpresents: Baroque Festival – Bach, the Beginning and End on 18 February,  dedicated to SSO Founding Patron the late Dr Goh Keng Swee, and VCHpresents: Baroque Festival – Music from Georgian England on 19 February.

The former will transport audience to the golden era of Baroque featuring masterpieces from Bach, Handel, and Corelli, while the latter will celebrate the regal music of Georgian England with pieces from Avison, Boyce, Handel, and Geminiani.

Complementing SSO’s February live concerts will be the digital release of Sounds For A Summer Evening on 10 February via SSOLOUNGE. Recorded live at the Victoria Concert Hall in December 2020, the concert features the dreamy Grassfield in the Summer, written by SSO’s Principal Flute, Jin Ta. During this online concert, audience can also enjoy Debussy’s Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp and Beethoven’s String Quintet in C major.

More information available on SSO’s website