SSO announces performance in Kyoto and appointments of Co-Principal Guest Concertmasters

The Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) makes its exciting return to Japan with one of the finest pianists today, Hélène Grimaud, starring in Ravel’s scintillating Piano Concerto in G. Also illuminating the stage in its Japan premiere is Singaporean composer Koh Cheng Jin’s Luciola singapura – a multi-award-winning composition depicting the Singapore firefly. Conducted by its Music Director, Austrian maestro Hans Graf, the SSO will also present Mendelssohn’s effervescent Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Beethoven’s mighty Fifth Symphony at the Asia Orchestra Week 2024 held in Kyoto, Japan.

Singapore Symphony Orchestra / Hans Graf, Music Director / Hélène Grimaud, piano

¥3,000, ¥2,000, ¥1,000

The noble strains of Brahms’s music encompass this entire programme conducted by SSO Music Director Hans Graf. Passion and angst rule his Tragic Overture while calm winds of grace flow through his Serenade in A major. Brahms’s popular Violin Concerto takes the limelight in the second half, starring the acclaimed violinist Sayaka Shoji, the first Japanese and youngest-ever winner of the Paganini Competition in 1999.

Singapore Symphony Orchestra / Hans Graf, Music Director / Sayaka Shoji, violin

$100, $75, $55, $40, $30, $15

Watch the full livestream on YouTube. In the history of music in every genre, what continues to be played long after it was written becomes classic, and ultimately: identity. Since 2018, the Singapore Symphony’s annual National Day Concert (NDC) has celebrated the works of our musical forefathers and showcased our composers of today, forging a sure but steady path for Singapore's musical identity. Winning pieces from the SSO's public NDC 2024 Call for Compositions will be performed at this concert. Experience the full splendour of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra teaming up with the next generation of Singapore music-makers - members of the Singapore National Youth Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Choruses, with combined school choirs and bands from around the island. Join us to hear our musical legacy and future.

The NDC Combined Choir comprises Anglo-Chinese Junior College, Deyi Secondary School, Methodist Girls' School (Secondary), Pathlight School, Punggol Secondary School, Serangoon Garden Secondary School and members of the Singapore Symphony Choruses; and the NDC Combined Band comprises Bendemeer Secondary School, Peirce Secondary School and members of the Singapore National Youth Orchestra.

This concert will be streamed live on the Singapore Symphony YouTube channel and mewatch.

Singapore Symphony Orchestra / Members of the Singapore National Youth Orchestra / Combined Choir / Combined Band / Leonard Tan, conductor / Ellissa Sayampanathan, Assistant Choral Conductor / Lily Goh, deaf artist-performer / Naomi Yeo, host

$68, $48, $38, $28, $15

Updates to programme: [16 Aug] For the second half of this programme, Qigang Chen's La joie de la souffrance will be performed first before Borodin's Polovtsian Dances. [11 Jun] Qigang Chen's Instants d'un Opera de Pekin will be replaced with Borodin's Polovtsian Dances.

Not one but two concertos fill this musical itinerary led by eminent Chinese conductor Long Yu, Music Director of the Shanghai Symphony and Artistic Director/Chief Conductor of the China Philharmonic Orchestra. Karen Gomyo, “a first-rate artist of real musical command, vitality, brilliance and intensity.” (The Chicago Tribune) stars in the American half of the programme with Barber’s Violin Concerto while Yiwen Lu, one of China’s finest exponents of the erhu, will enthral you with the haunting music of Qigang Chen.

Singapore Symphony Orchestra / Long Yu, conductor / Karen Gomyo, violin / Yiwen Lu, erhu

$100, $75, $55, $40, $30, $15

The Singapore and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras and Choruses join forces to present the choral-orchestral spectacular of Carmina Burana, Carl Orff’s grandiloquent 1937 oratorio. The “Songs of Beuren” is based on 13th century songs celebrating all manner of life’s pursuits – from sacred prayers to bawdy tavern songs, reincarnated through a modern orchestra in kaleidoscopic colour and rhythmic vivacity, amplifying its vibrant and earthy humour. It’s a stunning experience that’s absolutely not to be missed, as is the lineup of fanfares, firebirds and flamenco in this exciting collaboration.

Singapore and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras / Singapore and Melbourne Symphony Choruses / Singapore Symphony Children’s Choir / Jaime Martín, conductor / Warren Trevelyan-Jones, Chorus Director (MSO) / Eudenice Palaruan, Choral Director (SSC) / Wong Lai Foon, Choirmaster (SSCC/YC) / Siobhan Stagg, soprano / Andrew Goodwin, tenor / Christopher Tonkin, baritone

$128, $98, $78, $58, $38, $28

“A violinist like Maxim is born only once in a hundred years,” declared his violin teacher. Truly one of the most spellbinding violinists alive today, Maxim Vengerov, arrives in Singapore to play one of the many works that has carried his name into legend – the Sibelius Violin Concerto, music of tempestuous beauty and piercing sunlight. The Singapore Symphony also presents Emergence by the doyen of Singapore composers Kelly Tang, while Sibelius’s magnificent Second Symphony forges an incandescent conclusion to this concert conducted by Finnish maestro and former SSO Principal Guest Conductor Okko Kamu.

Singapore Symphony Orchestra / Okko Kamu, conductor / Maxim Vengerov, violin

$168, $138, $108, $78, $58, $38

From the sweet darkness and brooding introspection of Prokofiev to the beautiful fullness of Franck’s Sonata, ending with Ravel’s fiery Tzigane – this not-to-be-missed recital by the renowned Maxim Vengerov and Polina Osetinskaya is an exquisite encapsulation of the art of violin and piano.

Maxim Vengerov, violin / Polina Osetinskaya, piano

$168, $138, $108, $78, $58, $38

Ahoy lads and lasses, be that yer ma 'n pa comin' aboard me ship? Are they ole salts like me, ready fer our swashbucklin' adventure? Shiver me timbers, ok then! Strap on yer cutlasses 'n hold on yer pants, we be castin' off wit' our mighty ship, the Victoria now! Test yer sea legs 'n sound yer hornpipes 'n help us, Awesome Al and Cap'n Barráez find our booty trove o' musical gems!

Come aboard the Victoria with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, presenter Alasdair “Awesome Al” Malloy and conductor Rodolfo Barráez in this musical adventure of high Cs, pitch-perfect pirates and the thrill of the treasure hunt!

Recommended for ages 4 and above. No admission for infants-in-arms. No admission without a ticket. Pre-concert activities will begin an hour before each show.

A pre-event visual guide has been created to help prepare you and your family for this concert experience. Download it here.

Singapore Symphony Orchestra / Rodolfo Barráez, Associate Conductor / Alasdair Malloy, presenter

$35, $25 (Family package available)

Not one but two of Singapore’s finest young pianists take the stage at the Singapore Symphony’s 2024 showcase of President’s Young Performers. Watch Toby Tan, 16, prove his prodigiously growing talent in a performance of Rachmaninoff’s popular rhapsody on Paganini’s famous 24th Caprice. This sensuously modern masterpiece makes a mesmerising companion to Prokofiev’s brilliant Piano Concerto No. 1, whose lyrical tang and arresting melodies will be lit afire by Adrian Tang, 19, a First Prize winner at the 2023 National Piano & Violin Competition and alumnus of the Young Artist programme at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music.

Singapore Symphony Orchestra / Rodolfo Barráez, Associate Conductor / Toby Tan Kai Rong, piano / Adrian Tang, piano

$68, $48, $38, $28, $15

If a picture is worth a thousand words, music is surely worth millions. Music has been a vital ingredient in the art of storytelling, deepening the emotional power and meaning behind great films. Last seen together at the SSO’s tribute to Broadway, conductor Gerard Salonga is joined again by singing sensation Lara Maigue and SSO violinist Chan Yoong-Han in moving solo numbers by John Williams and Handel. Come with us on this cinematic journey of unforgettable scores that have transcended time and memory through film (and cartoon!).

This is a live orchestra concert with no film screening.

Singapore Symphony Orchestra / Gerard Salonga, conductor / Chan Yoong-Han, violin / Lara Maigue, soprano

$98, $78, $58, $48, $38, $28

“The only love affair I have ever had was with music.” – Maurice Ravel. And love we do the inimitable style, finesse and beauty of French music. The musicians of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra present this programme dedicated to the luscious musical sounds of Saint-Saëns, Debussy and Ravel, featuring SSO Principal Harpist Gulnara Mashurova.

Gulnara Mashurova, harp / Zhang Si Jing, violin / Zhao Tian, violin / Janice Tsai, viola / Christopher Mui, cello / Austin Larson, French horn

$20

“Music is a means of transport, an escape, and a refuge.” – Maurice Ravel. Ahead of Ravel’s 250th birth anniversary in 2025, the Singapore Symphony presents two examples of the French master’s unique sound. Revel in the caramel concord of his sonata for violin and cello, or the dream-laden wisps of his harp-infused Introduction & Allegro, set against the torrid emotions and delicate infatuations of his predecessor César Franck’s Quintet for piano and strings.

Gulnara Mashurova, harp / Chan Yoong-Han, violin / Cao Can, violin / Ye Lin, violin / Nikolai Koval, violin / Xu Jueyi, violin / Marietta Ku, viola / Guo Hao, cello / Jamshid Saydikarimov, cello / Evgueni Brokmiller, flute / Ma Yue, clarinet / Ning An, piano

$20

The SSO's popular Babies’ Proms returns with its well-established and familiar programme that has entertained generations of kids every year. Discover the fun and fantastic world of the orchestra and its different instruments in this free-and-easy musical day out for parents and kids. Be ready to get up from your seats and move along to the music with your lively Babies’ Proms presenter, William Ledbetter “Uncle Bill”!

The SSO Babies’ Proms programme is identical from year to year. Recommended for ages 6 and below. Tickets are required for children aged 2 and above. Free for children under 2 years if accompanied by an adult with a ticket. Pre-concert activities will begin an hour before each show.

Singapore Symphony Orchestra / Leonard Tan, conductor / William Ledbetter, presenter

$45, $35

Pulcinella was my discovery of the past, the epiphany through which the whole of my late work became possible. The idea of bringing to life the universal comic character from Neapolitan commedia dell'arte tradition in music fascinated Stravinsky. The result was an enchanting collection of ballet numbers filled with nostalgic neoclassical charm and the pungent wit of 20th century modernism. The Renaissance-inspired Fantasia for Strings by Henze and the music of Haydn, the paragon of the Classical era, add to this theme.

Haydn’s Piano Concerto No. 11 is performed only on Friday (11 Oct), and No. 4 only on Saturday (12 Oct).

Singapore Symphony Orchestra / Stefan Blunier, conductor / Moritz Ernst, piano

$100, $75, $55, $40, $30, $15

One of the finest pianists of our time, the renowned Hélène Grimaud is also a multi-talented Renaissance woman whose passion goes beyond music to writing, championing wildlife conservation and human rights. She performs Ravel’s scintillating Piano Concerto in G, a work of jazz-infused vitality and iridescent beauty. Also illuminating the stage is Singaporean composer Koh Cheng Jin’s Luciola singapura – a multi-award-winning SSO commission evoking the Singapore firefly. First performed at the SSO National Day Concert 2021, hear it again this October played by a full orchestra with the piece’s distinctive yangqin part. This fascinating programme conducted by SSO Music Director Hans Graf ends with Beethoven’s mighty Fifth Symphony, the most famous symphonic statement in all music history.

Singapore Symphony Orchestra / Hans Graf, Music Director / Hélène Grimaud, piano

$148, $118, $88, $68, $48, $38

The renowned pianist Hélène Grimaud is a multi-talented Renaissance woman whose passion goes beyond music to writing, championing wildlife conservation and human rights. Watch her distill her worldly insights into this solo recital of the music of Beethoven and Brahms, their Romantic ruminations and intimate lyricism segueing into a piece whose poignant grandeur Grimaud has elevated her fame with, the Bach/Busoni Chaconne.

Hélène Grimaud, piano

$148, $118, $88, $68, $48, $38

Beethoven’s spirited Piano Concerto No. 3 makes a perfect prelude to a very special performance of Mendelssohn’s music for A Midsummer Night’s Dream – not just the instrumental music that you know, but with Shakespeare’s inspired verses brought to life on stage by a narrator and chorus. Singapore Symphony Music Director Hans Graf directs two leading ladies of piano and theatre, Argentinian pianist Ingrid Fliter and Canadian actress Maureen Thomas in these plays of Romantic music and fantasy.

Singapore Symphony Orchestra / Treble Voices of the Singapore Symphony Chorus / Hans Graf, Music Director / Eudenice Palaruan, Choral Director / Ingrid Fliter, piano / Maureen Thomas, narrator / Adrian Tan, lighting designer / Leong Shan Yi, production stage manager

$100, $75, $55, $40, $30, $15

From cathedraleque grandeur to ethereal beauty to fearsome spectacle - how many ways can Halloween come alive in music? The SSO Organ Series's popular Halloween night returns again with music across the ages - heavenly prayers, mighty pipe organ toccatas and eerie nocturnes. The men of the Singapore Symphony Chorus lend their voices to a selection of Gregorian chant, stormy lied and frantic pleas to fickle Fortune, ending with Choral Director Eudenice Palaruan's Caña.

Male Chorus of the Singapore Symphony Chorus / Eudenice Palaruan, Choral Director & organ / Ellissa Sayampanathan, Assistant Choral Conductor / Shane Thio, celesta & piano / Boey Jir Shin, organ

$30, $20, $10

Immerse yourself in the melodic wealth of 18th century Europe in this two-day Baroque Festival by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, led by Willi Zimmermann, concertmaster of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra and guest leader of the Berlin Baroque Soloists. Day 1 begins with the amusing adventures of Don Quixote in Telemann’s lively suite, followed by signature gems of the Baroque such as Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3. Day 2 refreshes the stage as we go to England for Handel’s indelibly atmospheric Water Music, flowing into the artistry of Bach’s progeny.

Singapore Symphony Orchestra / Willi Zimmermann, leader & violin

$50, $35, $20

Immerse yourself in the melodic wealth of 18th century Europe in this two-day Baroque Festival by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, led by Willi Zimmermann, concertmaster of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra and guest leader of the Berlin Baroque Soloists. Day 1 begins with the amusing adventures of Don Quixote in Telemann’s lively suite, followed by signature gems of the Baroque such as Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3. Day 2 refreshes the stage as we go to England for Handel’s indelibly atmospheric Water Music, flowing into the artistry of Bach’s progeny.

Singapore Symphony Orchestra / Willi Zimmermann, leader & violin

$50, $35, $20