HANS GRAF FAREWELL SERIES:
SCHEHERAZADE
Esplanade Concert Hall
Thursday (7 May 2026)
Thank you, Music Director Hans Graf. The Singapore Symphony Orchestra embarked on a final chapter with its third Music Director Hans Graf with three programmes in his Farewell Series of concerts. From 2020, Graf’s tenure began with the troubling episode which we will remember as the global Covid-19 pandemic. There was a total suspension of concert activity for several months, and then the very gradual process of reintroducing concert via online streaming, then socially distanced live concerts for very limited audiences. It was only in April 2022, when full-length concert programmes returned, with Graf and his SSO presenting an all-Shostakovich concert.
Adventurous programming has characterised Graf’s choices. Singapore had local premieres of Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (complete incidental music), Ravel’s complete ballet Daphnis et Chloe and his single-act opera L’Heure Espagnole (The Spanish Hour). Even before that, he led the Singapore premiere of Alexander Zemlinsky’s Die Seejungfrau (The Mermaid).
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| Photo: Jack Yam |
This mostly Russian concert opened with Rachmaninov’s early tone poem The Rock. From the outset, refinement of ensemble was evident, and so was the solo playing, particularly from Evgueni Brokmiller’s flute and Li Xin’s clarinet. The warmth of SSO strings continued to radiate as the music shifted gears from its dour opening to passionate highs. The Lermontov poem and Chekhov story becomes secondary to the musical narrative which offered hope for the eponymous old man in the presence of a young lady but isolation and resignation at its end. SSO has recorded this on BIS but a live performance is always the preferable experience.
The inclusion of Polish composer Karol Szymanowski’s Second Violin Concerto (1932) was a touch of inspiration. Some 25 years ago, SSO performed the First Violin Concerto (1916) with Pierre Amoyal playing the Kochanski Strad, once owned by Polish violinist Pawel Kochanski, the dedicatee of both concertos. That was also the violin which premiered both concertos, and that seemed like a historical moment in SSO’s archival history. Young Spanish violinist Leticia Moreno’s performance seemed like the logical follow-up a quarter of a century later.
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| Photo: Jack Yam |
This is a gorgeous and sumptuously orchestrated work, with a thornily difficult solo with chromaticisms which Moreno took in her stride. The main impetus was the earthy and vigorous folk music of Poland’s Tatra Mountains, the pungency of which would inform much of Szymanowski’s later music. Moreno fought hard to battle the rugged orchestral forces, and succeeded intermittently, coming to the fore in the bristling cadenza provided by Kochanski that linked two halves of the 20-minute concerto.
The work deserves many more listens, and if pushed to cite a similarly inspired work, I would think of Bartok’s Second Violin Concerto, a far more familiar quantity. Moreno was accorded much applause for her efforts, and her encore was sublime – the Nana lullaby from Manuel de Falla’s Siete Canciones Populares Espanolas (Seven Popular Spanish Songs), accompanied by pianist Nicholas Loh.
Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade – symphonic suite in four movements – might seem like common garden repertoire, but Graf and his charges made it sound special. By now, I had decided to put down my pen to just enjoy the performance, and soak in the lush orchestration the Russian composer was famous for. Its musical narrative included concertmaster Erik Heide’s violin solo, with principal harpist Gulnara Mashurova, as the yarn-spinning queen for 1001 nights. The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship set sail with a sense of purpose and direction, while The Story of the Kalender Prince had principal bassoonist Guo Siping in great form.
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| Photo: Jack Yam |
The orchestral balance was close to perfect, and seldom had I been so captivated by the roles of these soloists backed by an equally engaged ensemble. The Prince and the Princess saw veterans, principal flautist Jin Ta and principal clarinettist Ma Yue (who will be retiring at season’s end), give their level best. It was clear that all on stage were playing for the maestro and the audience was the biggest beneficiary. By the time Festival at Baghdad and Storm at Sea concluded, there was an eruption of applause that indicated the audience had heard something rather special. I was not alone.
Was this the best Sheherazade ever witnessed live? Perhaps, possibly likely, and given the sense of occasion, it will remain long in the memory. Again, thank you Hans Graf for making this happen. Your six years with our national orchestra will not be forgotten.
The HANS GRAF FAREWELL SERIES continues with further concerts at Victoria Concert Hall on:
15 May 2026
21 & 22 May 2026
