Conductor Shui Lan and 98 musicians wow audience in London
By Mervin Beng In London, The Straits Times, 4 Sep 2014
By Mervin Beng In London, The Straits Times, 4 Sep 2014
Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Shui Lan, conductor, Andreas Haefliger, piano
Royal Albert Hall, London/Tuesday
This year's BBC Proms features a host of international orchestras, from Beijing to Istanbul, Iceland to Melbourne, presenting concerts as diverse as the cultures they represent.
Royal Albert Hall, London/Tuesday
This year's BBC Proms features a host of international orchestras, from Beijing to Istanbul, Iceland to Melbourne, presenting concerts as diverse as the cultures they represent.
Thirty-five years might seem a long time to build up to the Singapore Symphony Orchestra's debut Proms concert, but orchestras with much longer histories than the SSO are just making their Proms debut this year and others are still awaiting their elusive invitation.
The SSO's tour programmes typically include a substantial Romantic symphony and true to form, its music director Shui Lan selected Rachmaninov's Symphony No. 2, a challenging work, paired with a new work for piano and orchestra by American-based Chinese composer Zhou Long.
The 98 musicians and Shui might have been excused for taking some time to overcome jet lag and warm to the occasion, but none was needed.
Shui's brisk reading of the Overture To Russlan And Ludmilla was handled with aplomb by the strings and the orchestra sounded remarkably at ease from the first beat of the baton.
The overture was followed by the European premiere of Zhou's Postures For Piano And Orchestra, a co-commission by the BBC Proms and the SSO, with Andreas Haefliger on piano. The composer admits to regarding the piano as a highly percussive instrument and in his Postures, he juxtaposes a percussive piano with animal gestures from gongfu.
The overture was followed by the European premiere of Zhou's Postures For Piano And Orchestra, a co-commission by the BBC Proms and the SSO, with Andreas Haefliger on piano. The composer admits to regarding the piano as a highly percussive instrument and in his Postures, he juxtaposes a percussive piano with animal gestures from gongfu.
Fortunately, what could have been a banal caricature was thoughtfully crafted into three coherent movements - Piano- dance, Pianobells and Pianodrums.
The piano part was written with Haefliger in mind, whose ability to switch from driving percussion to shimmering keyboard runs was most impressive.
Shui and the SSO were equally empathetic to the dramatic orchestration, with the percussion section relishing the Peking Opera "Monkey" rhythms in the final movement. Parts in the second movement which called for the pianist to strum on the piano strings like a harp felt a little contrived, but the work fully engaged the near-capacity audience, who rewarded it with warm applause.
For a relatively young Asian orchestra to take on Rachmaninov's Second Symphony, an intensely emotional and demanding work, takes gumption, but orchestra and conductor were up to the challenge.
The opening movement was carefully shaped and layered, followed by an impressively tidy second movement. The achingly beautiful slow movement is always a favourite of audiences, but it was the pure joy that conductor and orchestra exuded in the finale that will be remembered.
Shui's direction of the hour-long symphony from memory was exemplary - intelligent, subtly nuanced and well shaped. He was matched by an orchestra in sizzling form. Every player, every section without exception gave their best, with the principal clarinet, cor anglais, and percussion and horn sections deserving special mention.
The small contingent from Singapore present to support the SSO's Proms debut included Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Lawrence Wong, National Arts Council CEO Kathy Lai and High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Foo Chi Hsia. They must have been delighted with the SSO's performance.
The broader Proms audience - the concert drew a capacity audience of 5,500 - were no less enthusiastic about the performance.
In response, Shui and the orchestra obliged with a suitably English encore, a march by William Walton, A History Of The English Speaking Peoples - a clever touch, well appreciated by the audience.
After tonight, this reviewer expects that the SSO will find itself back at the Proms sooner rather than later.
Glowing reviews for SSO Proms debut
British newspapers give performance four out of five stars; PM Lee praises orchestra on social media
By Lisabel Ting, The Straits Times, 5 Sep 2014
The Singapore Symphony Orchestra has received glowing reviews for its BBC Proms debut on Tuesday at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
Two British newspapers, The Guardian and The Telegraph, gave the performance four out of five stars, and Singaporeans on social media have also responded warmly.
The 98-member orchestra was led by music director Shui Lan and it performed Rachmaninov's Symphony No. 2, the overture from Glinka's Ruslan And Ludmila, and Zhou Long's Postures For Piano And Orchestra.
Renowned Swiss pianist Andreas Haefliger performed in the latter.
The orchestra's encore was William Walton's A History Of The English Speaking Peoples.
The Guardian's Tim Ashley called the orchestra's rendition of Postures "a sensational tour de force from Haefliger, and a fine display of orchestral bravado for the SSO and Shui".
He adds that "Shui's credentials as a Rachmaninov interpreter are impeccable and his no-frills performance was intense without sentimentality, noble but never bombastic".
Meanwhile, The Telegraph's Hugo Shirley praised the orchestra's "lean, disciplined strings; crisp, well-balanced brass; mellow woodwind".
He said that Shui's interpretation of the Rachmaninov symphony was "refreshingly airy and spruce, playing to his orchestra's strengths in a reading that, despite its flexibility, kept the rhythms taut and the textures remarkably clean".
Life! freelance classical music reviewer Mervin Beng also gave the orchestra the thumbs-up. In his review published yesterday, he wrote: "For a relatively young Asian orchestra to take on Rachmaninov's Second Symphony, an intensely emotional and demanding work, takes gumption, but orchestra and conductor were up to the challenge."
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong posted a congratulatory note to the orchestra on his Facebook page on Wednesday.
He wrote: "Well done Singapore Symphony Orchestra! SSO's debut last night at the 120th BBC Proms, at the Royal Albert Hall in London, went very well. The orchestra put on a brilliant performance, wowed the audience and won critical praise."
Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Lawrence Wong attended the performance in London, along with other Singaporeans including National Arts Council CEO Kathy Lai and High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Foo Chi Hsia.
Mr Wong posted pictures of the concert on his Facebook page, one of which showed the Singapore flag flying high, unfurled by Singaporean audience members at the Royal Albert Hall.
He wrote: "Even though SSO conductor Shui Lan was not feeling well, he persevered to the end, and led the orchestra to a superb performance. The SSO received a very positive reception, and there were even people in the audience flying the Singapore flag!
"After the concert, someone told me that this was the best orchestral performance so far at the Proms this year. Well done SSO!"
On social media, support for the orchestra's BBC Proms performance was also strong. Facebook user Ying Herng Heng, 35, a Singaporean paediatric occupational therapist based in London, attended the concert with a group of friends and posted pictures of it on her wall.
She told Life!: "I felt so proud to be able to share something from our little red dot with my visiting Singaporean cousin and three British friends. It was simply an amazing and proud night for me."
Facebook user Kwok Leong Ronnie Chan posted: "This is indeed a great achievement for Singapore and heartiest congratulations to SSO for coming a long way to reach this world standard of fine music."
The Proms is a prestigious annual eight-week classical music season that has been organised by the British Broadcasting Corporation since 1927 and is one of the biggest classical events in the world. This year's season runs from July 18 to Sept 13.
Glowing reviews for SSO Proms debut
British newspapers give performance four out of five stars; PM Lee praises orchestra on social media
By Lisabel Ting, The Straits Times, 5 Sep 2014
The Singapore Symphony Orchestra has received glowing reviews for its BBC Proms debut on Tuesday at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
Two British newspapers, The Guardian and The Telegraph, gave the performance four out of five stars, and Singaporeans on social media have also responded warmly.
The 98-member orchestra was led by music director Shui Lan and it performed Rachmaninov's Symphony No. 2, the overture from Glinka's Ruslan And Ludmila, and Zhou Long's Postures For Piano And Orchestra.
Renowned Swiss pianist Andreas Haefliger performed in the latter.
The orchestra's encore was William Walton's A History Of The English Speaking Peoples.
The Guardian's Tim Ashley called the orchestra's rendition of Postures "a sensational tour de force from Haefliger, and a fine display of orchestral bravado for the SSO and Shui".
He adds that "Shui's credentials as a Rachmaninov interpreter are impeccable and his no-frills performance was intense without sentimentality, noble but never bombastic".
Meanwhile, The Telegraph's Hugo Shirley praised the orchestra's "lean, disciplined strings; crisp, well-balanced brass; mellow woodwind".
He said that Shui's interpretation of the Rachmaninov symphony was "refreshingly airy and spruce, playing to his orchestra's strengths in a reading that, despite its flexibility, kept the rhythms taut and the textures remarkably clean".
Life! freelance classical music reviewer Mervin Beng also gave the orchestra the thumbs-up. In his review published yesterday, he wrote: "For a relatively young Asian orchestra to take on Rachmaninov's Second Symphony, an intensely emotional and demanding work, takes gumption, but orchestra and conductor were up to the challenge."
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong posted a congratulatory note to the orchestra on his Facebook page on Wednesday.
He wrote: "Well done Singapore Symphony Orchestra! SSO's debut last night at the 120th BBC Proms, at the Royal Albert Hall in London, went very well. The orchestra put on a brilliant performance, wowed the audience and won critical praise."
Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Lawrence Wong attended the performance in London, along with other Singaporeans including National Arts Council CEO Kathy Lai and High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Foo Chi Hsia.
Mr Wong posted pictures of the concert on his Facebook page, one of which showed the Singapore flag flying high, unfurled by Singaporean audience members at the Royal Albert Hall.
He wrote: "Even though SSO conductor Shui Lan was not feeling well, he persevered to the end, and led the orchestra to a superb performance. The SSO received a very positive reception, and there were even people in the audience flying the Singapore flag!
"After the concert, someone told me that this was the best orchestral performance so far at the Proms this year. Well done SSO!"
On social media, support for the orchestra's BBC Proms performance was also strong. Facebook user Ying Herng Heng, 35, a Singaporean paediatric occupational therapist based in London, attended the concert with a group of friends and posted pictures of it on her wall.
She told Life!: "I felt so proud to be able to share something from our little red dot with my visiting Singaporean cousin and three British friends. It was simply an amazing and proud night for me."
Facebook user Kwok Leong Ronnie Chan posted: "This is indeed a great achievement for Singapore and heartiest congratulations to SSO for coming a long way to reach this world standard of fine music."
The Proms is a prestigious annual eight-week classical music season that has been organised by the British Broadcasting Corporation since 1927 and is one of the biggest classical events in the world. This year's season runs from July 18 to Sept 13.
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