SINGAPORE PREMIERE OF VICTOR HERBERT'S CELLO CONCERTO NO.2: Photographs from the final rehearsal

SOME PHOTOGRAPHS 

FROM THE REHEARSAL:

SINGAPORE PREMIERE OF

VICTOR HERBERT'S 

CELLO CONCERTO NO.2

Singapore premieres are momentous events in our musical calendar. These do not happen regularly but when premieres take place, a little history is made. On Saturday 24 June 2023, the Singapore premiere of Irish-American composer Victor Herbert's (1859-1924) Second Cello Concerto took place at the School of the Arts Concert Hall, given by local cellist soloist Loke Hoe Kit and the Tanglin Symphony Orchestra conducted by Briton Michael Holiday. 

It was interesting to note that the edition of the same concerto with piano accompaniment was also premiered by Loke in 2017 at Victoria Concert Hall with pianist Khor Shang Jin. Loke is certainly the local cellist with the most Singapore premieres, having also premiered Saint-Saens' Second Cello Concerto with the Macpherson Philharmonic Orchestra several years ago. 

Here are some photographs from the final rehearsal, held earlier in the afternoon on the same day. The orchestra produced a good sonority all around, and ably supported Loke in his performance. Much care was taken by conductor Holiday to ensure that the orchestra did not overwhelm the lovely cello solo. In short, the community orchestra based in Tanglin Trust School was a sensitive partner. For the record, the orchestra also performed Sibelius' Finlandia and Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony. This must have made for a very enjoyable evening of good music!

CD Review (The Straits Times, December 2017)

VICTOR HERBERT Cello Concertos

Mark Kosower, Cello

Ulster Orchestra / JoAnn Falletta

Naxos 8.573517 / ****1/2

The Dublin-born American composer Victor Herbert (1859-1924) was a virtuoso cellist and bandleader before making his fame by writing musicals such as Babes In Toyland. His two cello concertos deserve to be heard mostly because they are filled with good memorable tunes besides being totally concert-worthy vehicles for cello virtuosos.

The First Cello Concerto in D major (1884) is slightly longer and in the traditional three-movement form that is shared by most Romantic concertos. His Second Cello Concerto in E minor (1894) is rather more famous, mostly because it had given the great Bohemian composer Antonin Dvorak, then living in the States, ideas about writing his own cello concerto. The cyclical form with recurring themes contrasting the dramatic and lyrical, within three connected sections, makes it a concentrated but absorbing listen.

The likes of Yo-Yo Ma and Gautier Capucon have recorded it, both coupled with the Dvorak Cello Concerto. American cellist Mark Kosower is their equal and his disc provides further opportunities to explore unfamiliar territory. The splendid Ulster Orchestra directed by JoAnn Falletta adds Herbert's Irish Rhapsody (1892) which strings together popular Irish melodies of the time to glorious effect.